counting the days Norma
MT..I wish I had your energy
Nancy...you and MT must have the same thing for breakfast
Helia...
When I went back to school in the last 80's a friend of mine introduced me to a guy named Andrew. He was 10 years younger than me, but we connected like we were long lost friends. Andrew was gay. You couldn't tell it, but after hanging out with him I soon put two and two together. Once he realized I knew and didn't judge him our relationship really took off.
We had classes together and studied together as well. He could make me laugh until my sides hurt and he loved doing it. Many of his friends died from HIV, but Andrew was tested every 6 months and they were coming out negative. In the early 90's he got really sick. He called me on a Fridayto say he was going to the hospital and like a fool I never asked which one....
When I didn't hear from Andrew I got really scared. Then he called me on Tue to say he'd been released. Right then and there I told him everything I needed to. Then he told me.. I have IT. I didn't understand because his tests always came back negative. He didn't have HIV, he had AIDS, and back then there were no tests for AIDS. It was June 4 and I asked him how much time we had...he said 18 months. And so our journey began.
Every day we'd talked about every thing including his death. Eventually he couldn't cook for himself, the smell of food made him sick. I would take him to the store to buy microwavable food. When that became too difficult I cooked for him...and all during this time we talked and we laughed. Soon he could only eat grilled cheese sandwiches...I would cut them in teeny tiny bits...and it would take him an hour to eat it. And we kept talking and laughing. He was given AZT meds and was concerned about getting them from the pharmacy. I volunteer to get them...he just looked at me and said not to worry that the pharmacist was taking it too....Time ticked away and eventually he wouldn't let me visit him any more...Andrew was one of the most handsome man that I've ever known. He was very vain and didn't want me to see him waste away...I understood.
So we talked on the phone every day and laughed and laughed. Eventually he asked me to plan his funeral. He wanted me to wear a red dress which I promised to do. He told me he loved me in red. He told me when the time came and he had crossed over he would send me a sign that he was alright. Our phone conversations became shorter. He moved home to his parents. And we kept laughing over all sorts of silly things. During one of our last conversations Andrew told me how much it meant to him that we were able to talk about his impending death.
Some time during our friendship, Andrew gave me a bunch of plants which flower. I kept them inside On Ded 21, almost 18 months to the day I came down my stairs to get my morning coffee and all his flowers had bloomed red. I knew before the phone call came. After going to his memorial in my red dress and blazer I met his mother for the first time face to face....we had been constantly talking on the phone...She was standing at the entrance of the church after the ceremony. We started talking and she said...ya know Andrew's probable up there with the angels making sure they were doing their duties...and with that she started laughing...and when she did I saw Andrew's smile in her face...and for a moment we were laughing together again.
It could have ended either way (really broke or fixed). Thankfully it all went well and now the oven is working!
Maybe in the future she will help so we can take turns. Dd17 has to be across town at the church at 5:30, so she has to leave our house at 5:10. 
I love them all.