Tulips At The Right Time.jpg

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2020. When COVID hit, our training sessions shifted to near-daily walks. We would meet on the corner, then make the 2.5 mile circle of Oak Hills. We talked about many things, and got closer than we’d been in 13 years of knowing each other. 2023, You told me breast the cancer came back, the tumor, treatments, and your pain level. Stage 4. You weren’t afraid of death, but you were afraid for your sons. The walks got slower, and less often. About December, we stopped walks and I came to your house to visit. I vowed to be there for you, and I was. Two days before you died, 3/29, I walked to see you for the last time, and for the first time, I noticed...tulips just starting to bloom, right on our corner. The rest of the corner is untended gravel, then a small round oasis of tulips. In 30 years of living here and walking kids to the bus stop right there, I’d never noticed them. Tears streamed down my face as I walked to your place after seeing a tangible reminder that the circle of life continues to spin. As you slept with relative peace and faded away, they came into full bloom. I miss you so much, Jocelyn. The tulips are here again, and they make me smile and cry. 3/31/26