Shirley Dahlgren
Grace and I have been the closest of friends since 3rd grade.
I could tell tales of our double dates, or the dances and parties that we attended. Or how she babysat for my son with her daughter Leanne while I was a working mom. Or how we were candy stripers together at Grasslands Hospital, which was the beginning of our careers in nursing!
No, my most favorite time shared with Grace was my impromptu visit in 2018 while I was vacationing in Fort Myers with family. I drove a rental car to her home in West Palm Beach and we went for a late lunch at Panera’s. Well, we ate and talked and laughed, exchanging stories of our growing up together in Briarcliff Manor NY and our lives since then.
Well, we were still there when they closed, and we hadn’t run out of stories to share.
We were in no hurry to go home where we hadn’t set up my bed, so we took a motel room for the night and continued to talk through the wee hours!
And we still have not run out of stories to share, but that will wait until I join her at those Pearly gates, where she will be waiting for me.