My Dear Friend Gloria

I've been very fortunate to have been blessed with many good friends over the years. One in particular that I wanted to recognize is my dear friend Gloria Wilder. I met Gloria several years ago when she, her husband and two teenage sons moved into my old San Francisco neighborhood.




It wasn't long afterward that I ran into a rough patch in my life when my grandmother passed away, and I became so devastated that I ceased to take care of myself. I stopped eating, and spent most of my time in bed. Over several days going into a few weeks, Gloria noticed a very haggard and unkempt version of me. Without hesitation, she came to my house and offered home-cooked meals to help get me out of my rut; a simple act, but it was care and kindness that was incredibly touching to me, especially after losing someone so significant.

Fast forward a few months, life would resume to normal and I would meet a gentleman. Of course, I shared all of the details, excitement, and joy with Gloria. Fast forward a few years, I would get married and move very far away. We were both very sad about the last event.

I miss Gloria very much. Even though we live on opposite ends of the coast, we still keep in touch, and still have many awesome memories. On a recent visit to San Francisco, we cooked and bonded over several savory dishes in her gorgeous kitchen, caught up on gossip and laughed very hard. It felt like I had never left.

I'm sure that everyone has or will have a friend just like Gloria, people who we connect with on a special level, and makes life so much sweeter. In the spirit of celebrating people this week, I wanted to recognize my dear friend Gloria.