For Belle

My friend, Belle, died suddenly on November 2.  It was a shock; I did not know that she had gotten sick.  She was 47 years old, married to Dwayne for 25 years and has one son, Chance, a college student.  

I met Belle when I was hired to teach at Holy Family Catholic School in Lafayette.   It was a rough time for me --- I had recently separated, had a young son and was struggling.  Belle was often the bright spot for me on many dark days.  Her ability to find humor in almost any situation as well as her willingness to help is something for which I will be forever grateful.   She was generous to a fault, had a crazy sense of humor and never met a stranger.  She was the one who insisted that the circle of friends that started at Holy Family stay in touch.  And she was the one who made sure that happened.  

There are many things that I loved about Belle.  One of the things that I really appreciated was her early morning phone call.  Belle was the kind of woman who had house work done, the evening’s dinner on the stove and had visited her mother, all before her afternoon stories came on TV.  Knowing that I am not an early riser, Belle would always ask, “You up soul?” when she would call and then proceed to tell me that I was lying when I said that I was.  Truth is two or three of her calls were my wake up calls.  Belle’s calls always gave me a little piece of home and helped me to start the day with a smile (usually a big belly laugh!).

Belle had planned to come to last year’s party but could not make it.  About a month after the party, I received two pair of pajamas from Belle.  When we spoke on the phone, we both agreed that she definitely would attend the next party.  I packed her donation with the party décor with the thought that she would not have to purchase PJs this year.

Each year, around this time, something happens that makes me think that I should not have the party.  This year was no exception.  Belle’s passing along with a few other events made me think that perhaps I should skip this year.  Then I found Belle’s gift.