Finding Jane

I was a sophmore in high school when Jane's family moved into town. Her family lived about 2 miles from mine, and we became fast friends. Jane and I shared a commonality - we were both "big boned" having battled with weight for all of our lives. We both loved jewelry and we were into arts & crafts.


Her family moved away, and she went with them. We kept in touch by letter and an occasional phone call. This was before e mail, cell phones and unlimited long distance calling that we enjoy today. Eventually, the letters and calls became less frequent and trickled to a halt. I had heard that she moved south, but I never knew where.

As often happens, I went on with my life, got married, widowed, married again. My life has settled into a nice cozy place and sometimes I look back and wonder whatever happened to Jane. Whenever I visit my brother Cliff, I pass the home she lived in all those years ago.

One day not so long ago, I was fiddling around on the computer and decided that it was time to look for Jane. It was really quite easy - I just googled her, and there she was. At least, I thought it could be her. Ad so I sat down and wrote a letter and asked if she was indeed the Jane that I knew in high school, filled in a few details, dropped the letter into the mail and waited.

I didn't hear anything for a few weeks and finally stopped waiting for a response when lo and behold a thick envelope was delivered to me with Jane's return address on it. I was really quite excited. She gave me a brief overview of her life for the past 35 years - a long time span to cover - and expressed her desire to continue to communicate with me. And so, our letter writing began.

From my point of view, I enjoyed writing and receiving the letters via snail mail. It was like being a kid again and having a pen pal. But it seems that jane really did not enjoy writing and so her letters were few and far between. Although she had gven me her phone number, I was reluctant to call her. I guess there was some sort of anonymity or mystery about the letter writing that I liked. But there is something else. Jane did not have a computer, so emailing or IMing was out of the question. She also did not have long distance phone service, so she was unable to call me.

You see, the never married Jane had finally moved into her own apartment at almost 50 years old. I so applaud her courage to make it on her own after all those years of living in the comfort of her family. It was long overdue, and she realizes that now. But it has created a financial strain for her, and I sense that each day is a struggle. I had to decide how much to tell her about my life and the comfort that I enjoy. I did not want her to feel awkward about her situation.

But finally, I picked up the phone and called her. We talked for 2 hours, and it was as though no time at all had elapsed since our last conversation all those years ago. And I needn't have worried, because this lovely, kind hearted woman was just so pleased for me and for how my life has turned out, in spite of all the obstacles and tragedies. I am so glad that I made that call.

The sad part is that Jane is going though some health issues right now and is still in the testing stages. Each day that she takes off from her job for doctor's appointments is a day that she doesn't get paid. Each co-pay that she has to lay out is another $10.00 less that she has to by food or put gas in her car. So, on top of her health worries, she has financial worries. Yet she handles it with dignity and grace, grateful each day that she gets up and puts one foot in front of the other.

Having Jane back in my life has really helped me to put things into perspective. I know that I, and so many of my friends and family, take those day-to-day comforts for granted. I know that if I have an important doctor's appointment to go to, I have many people here who will go with me if I choose. I can pick up the phone without concern for the cost because of my unlimited long distance plan, or I can turn on the computer and shoot off an email to a friend.

It's all about the little things.

So please keep Jane in your thoughts as she worries and waits for the results of the seemingly never ending tests. Now that I have found her again, I am not ready to lose her.