I’m sure you’ve noticed that we haven’t posted much on our blog since we lost our beloved Diann. I’ll be very real with you and admit it’s been so hard without her. The essence of the love and joy she spread everywhere with her is here. When we miss her, we come here and read some of her posts, and we can hear her voice. :)
I’ve been doing a lot of radio interview for The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, and I’ve been talking about her a lot the way I always do. I don’t want anyone to forget her. One of the interviewers recently said she was glad I was talking about it because there’s no real space in society for grieving friends. A woman who loses her husband is a widow. A daughter who loses her parents is an orphan, but there’s no real term to explain the loss of a friend who is as close as a sister. I was so glad she mentioned it, because she was right. We don’t often talk about what it’s like to lose a friend who impacted every part of your life. I think many of us have experienced it though.
So I’m going to do what Di would want—carry on even as we celebrate all she taught us. Things like love and mercy and taking joy in the moment. She was a master at it!
I’m at an author retreat this weekend, and publicist Jeane Wynn ended her session on publicity with an amazing quote that has so lingered with me. I want to share it with you too. Read it slowly and contemplate exactly what it means. Without the tears and the sorrow, would we really experience the fullness of the joy and pleasure we have too? Life is about ups and downs, sorrow and joy. We learn something in every experience we go through daily.
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.” ― Frederick Buechner, Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation
So how about you? What do you see has a key moment in your week? One of my moments this week was remembering how Kristin gave me my first entry drug to coffee—the iced mocha. I had one in her honor today to celebrate my love of coffee. LOL Small, yes? But the taste of good coffee brings me great joy, and it’s thanks to Kristin. ::)
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Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.
Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.
Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.
Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.
4 Comments:
Very deep thoughts. It's almost painful to be together without her, and feels like a betrayal of sorts. I hadn't realized until you emailed about it -- that we'd really let the blog drop -- and why. Grieving a sister/friend is so odd because it changes the dynamics for the friends who are left. And you have to rework that and build that up I suppose. "The new normal." I know that she'd be encouraging us to carry on. Thanks for the thoughtful post and reminders.
And to share one? We were in Reno and Di ordered calamari and then it came, and she was like, "Oh, it's a weird texture, like rubber."
"Di, do you know what calamari is?"
I'm really a wimpy person when it comes to confrontation but seeing that she thought it was pasta of some sort, made me bold enough to send it back for something else. LOL Stuff like that always happened to Di and we had that in common. Today, I kid you not, I went to FIVE restaurants before we could get lunch served to us. What are the chances of that happening to "normals?"
I didn't know her personally except through this blog and all the wonderful books she wrote. I'm still sharing with those I meet how much I enjoy reading her books. She will live on in her writing for those of us that never had the pleasure of meeting her.
And I got to know all of you too! And I enjoy all of your books so much!
hey girls
I have missed you all!
I don't have internet at home now, so I check in at my sisters!
hugs jel
Colleen,
I met you and Diann in Zion, Illinois while she and my sister was undergoing treatment there. I'm sorry for your loss. I too am grieving the loss of my sister Diana, as well. She went to be with her Lord and Savior August 25, 2016.
You and Diann's family are in my prayers.
I hope that you will email me. I would very much like to talk to you.
Colleen Barrow
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