My Friend - Jo

(Steve, Jo, Rachel and Jeremy - March 2006)

Following is a poem I wrote when I was 21.  My friend, Jo, has kept this poem and reminded me of it only recently.  This got me thinking about friends and the importance of them in our lives.  On personal level, it got me thinking about my very special friends.  I intend to write a post about each and every one of those special friends, with their consent of course.

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First up is, Jo.  Jo and I met when we worked at McEwans, now Bunnings, as teenagers.  We both slogged it out behind the cash registers on a Saturday and Sunday, and I was always so envious of her because she had the opportunity to work behind the Service Desk.  We went to so many parties: drank, pashed and danced.  We both despised Steve, who worked in the Tool Shop, because he came across as arrogant and to me, sexist - of course to me!  Ironically enough, she is now married to Steve and we all remain close friends.  And yes, I do like him - now.  I like him a lot.  

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Catching up to speed, Jo is now a mother to Joshua Patrick (10 weeks older than Amaya).  Since I too have become a mother, Jo has been a strength and a guiding light for me.  She has offered me sound advice on many occasions and in no way made me feel guilty for any of my choices as a mother.  We have breakfast together once a month - alone, no husbands and no children.  We talk for hours and could quite possibly even talk over lunch as well.  Little does Jo know that I too find my strength and courage in her as she always says she finds in me.  She is really one of my only friends that I can talk to about my faith in God and the importance of religion in one's life.

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Jo is one of the most gentle, raw and genuine people I have met in my lifetime.  She exudes kindness, spirit, humanity, compassion, and a real gift for expressing her emotions in a most moving fashion - no wonder she is a nurse.  I know that she is currently experiencing a rough voyage on the seas of life, but I also know that the calm will come again in the very near future.  And for that, she will be an even stronger and more noble woman, mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. 

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To Jo:    

When you look back on your life what will you see?

Will you see the kind of person you want to be?

Will you know deep in your heart in all you tried,

You worked with dignity, with passion and with pride?

When you look back on your life, what will you say,

To your companions who were with you on the way?

Will you hold your head up high before the rest,

Because you know you've done your best?

Among the voyages through life, some seas are rough.

There are times your best will not seem good enough.

Then you must ride the storm just hanging on,

And when the calm has come again, you'll still go on.

When you look back on your life what evil will you find?

That has given you the greatest peace of mind?

When all is said and done,

Let it not be what you have my friend,

But that you have lived your life with friends and love.

With Love,

Shan xoxo