Forget-Me-Not

My friend and I sat down at one of the round tables at the back of the meeting hall.  The tables were nicely covered with white tablecloths.  Bite size treats were scattered around the center of each table.  There were little angel ornaments and forget-me-not seed packets on each table.  We looked at the goodies and at the memorial service pamphlet, we couldn’t stop wiping the tears from our eyes.

I met Terri four years ago when I first moved to Sequim, Washington.  I showed up one Sunday at Elks Lodge.  She showed me what to do around the kitchen and how to take orders and serve food and drinks to the Bingo players. 

Right away, we hit it off.   It was just fun serving with Terri.  We both love polka dots and would often show up in polka dot outfits.  We even had polka dot shoes and socks, even tablecloths.  Soon, we called ourselves the “Polka Dot Sisters”.

I don’t know why I enjoyed being around Terri so much.  She was just so easy to get along with and cool.  In addition to serving at Elk’s, she also did “clogging”.  At the memorial service, I learned how much fun she was from all her family and friends.  So, it’s a consensus. 

In the kitchen, Terri did most of the work and I ran around trying to learn everyone’s name and why the tables are not logically numbered.  We danced through many kitchen mishaps.  We discussed how to deal with the hot dogs we’ve murdered on the commercial grill.  We mopped up the waterfall of iced tea from the drawers.  (Some well-meaning volunteers had been over enthusiastic about adding water to the iced tea pot.)  Sometimes, after the Bingo event, we’d gather at the bar, sip on a glass of wine and gossip and laugh about our latest “grandma” escapades.

She was so devoted to her family, but she was always ready to help.  She even showed up one summer to help me in the kitchen of a lavender farm during the Sequim Lavender Festival.

What can I say, I miss Terri very much.  Working in the kitchen was never quite the same after she got sick and resigned.  Her lively spirit had been such a sparkling light in my life.  I brought two packets of forget-me-not’s home and planted the seeds in my garden right away. I think of her often; and although I miss her very very much, I smile every time I remember her.