August Happiness Challenge -- Day 25

Today’s happiness: Nancy's husband, Paul. I had lunch on Saturday with my friend, Nancy. She has moved into my old hometown, where I still go to get my hair cut. Now that my nephew is away at college, I no longer see him after getting my locks shorn. And since I'm there, why not see Nancy?

Well, I'm glad I did. Short story: we met at a new (to us) burger place and I had some fantastic grub as we caught up. Who knew you could get a peanut butter and jelly hamburger? Long story follows ...

Nancy is unemployed. Her father died a year ago and they just observed the anniversary, her daughter is going back to college this week and her son is in rehab ... for heroin. She knew he'd been fighting a losing battle with alcohol since his teens (he's now 22). It was his way of self-medicating as he dealt with his parent's divorce, ADD, and now the slow pace of his music career (he'd been working as a bus boy). The heroin was a shock. She's bereft. She is overwhelmed.

That's why I am so happy she has Paul. After lunch, she took me to her home and I met him again for the first time in years. The three of us sat around and talked for two hours. He is, like me, a pop culture nerd and we compared notes on old TV shows. And the Cubs. Nancy seemed to enjoy watching us interact, and at one point she curled up next to him, looked up at him and said, "I love you."

I'm so happy she has him. With everything going on in her life, I'm glad she has someone can, literally, lean on.

via GIPHY

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.