Thinking About My Friend Yollie

Today I thought about my friend Yollie (AKA Yolanda).  She never used the name Yolanda, always Yollie.  When I wanted to annoy her I would call her by her given name. The one photo I have with her was taken at a colleague's wedding.  In the photo above she's the one on my right.

I’ve been in a nostalgic mood lately as I’ve been deeply engrossed in helping to plan my 25^th High School Reunion which will take place next summer in Trinidad.  Go BAHS!  DH has recently resurrected an Epson scanner I bought eons ago and so I’ve been scanning all the “one of” pictures I have all over the walls of the house or in albums. 

But back to Yollie.  We met when I was in my early twenties and new to the USA and to the area where we both lived and worked.  We worked for the same company.  So much of who I am and my outlook on life (embrace everything and live as if this is your last day on earth) comes from my relationship with Yollie.  She was the most fearless, engaging, open-minded, friendly person I knew.  I remember spending entire Saturdays or Sundays with her, just hanging out.  

I forgot to say – Yollie was already in her fifties when I met her, so we were more than 25 years apart in age but you wouldn’t know that though, because of her youth full outlook on life. She’d been divorced and never had children and as we talked, I got a sense that that was the something she regretted.  It was sad, because IMHO she would have made a great mom, and in a way, she was – to me, and her dozens of nephews and nieces.  She was a Philippina who emigrated here and came from a large family.  She was crafty, and fun and so light-hearted.  She was also musically gifted pianist.  I will always regret not taking the time to have her teach me piano. 

Over the years I changed jobs and Yollie and I had lost contact.  One Christmas she was on my mind and I decided to send her a Christmas card with a note.  I got a response a few weeks later, from her brother.  He had called me to tell me that Yollie had a heart attack and had passed away the year before and (amazingly) her memorial service would take place the next week.  Talk about the hand of God!  I went to the memorial service and cried.  Then I cried some more.  I try to live without regrets, but I do regret losing contact with her. I never got the chance to tell her how much she truly meant to me.  Yollie love Christmas when she would decorate her home from top to bottom. She truly loved Christmas decorating even more than me (and that’s hard to do).  Ironically, she passed away over the Christmas season.

So today, I dedicate this post to Yollie and all the other Yollies out there who are impacting the lives of “motherless” women like me.  You may not ever know how much of an impact you had on our lives on this side of heaven, but I hope someday to see you on the other side and thank you then.