Not Mine To Fix

The very first friend I made when I moved to Georgia was a co-worker. We each had daughters that were close in age. How we met was I was walking through her office and fell. She stood up, introduced herself, stepped over me and walked away. Looking back, I should have been insulted, but strangely, I found it funny.

Over the years we have been through a lot together. She was with me every step of the way through the Autism diagnosis for Courtney. I was there when her husband lost his job. She was there when Scott and I were trying to decide if marriage was all it was cracked up to be. I was there when she decided that it was gastric by-pass surgery that was going to save her life. She got me hooked on Georgia Tech football. I got her hooked on the Bare Naked Ladies (easy, it’s a music group).

Life progressed and both of us took jobs with other companies. Kids have grown older. Houses have been sold and new ones built farther away. But, our friendship hasn’t changed. If I want to see a chick flick that Scott won’t take me to, I call her. If she wants to go see Pink in concert, she calls me. Thank goodness for e-mail, texting and Facebook; we can talk daily. And no matter what, we know that we are there for each other.

A couple of weeks ago she tells me that she isn’t sure about some things in her life and wonders if they are all that they are cracked up to be. My first instinct was to sit down and talk through it. And for her being the non talkative type, she did amazingly well at laying it all out there for me to see. She knows that I don’t side with her just because she is my friend and has let me point out where I think she is wrong. She has let me make a million suggestions as to what to do to “fix it”…..and she finally had to tell me it wasn’t my problem to fix.

What?

That’s what I do. I fix things. Everyone should be happy, especially my friends.

What do you mean it is not mine to fix?

She told me that all I can do is to be there for her.

I can do that.

But this is the hardest job I have ever had!