My Friend Josie

My friend Josie is heading to California today -- a cross-country move that's been in the works for quite a while now but is suddenly and horribly A Done Deal. 

The windows are blank and bare in her house and all the folk art and books and paintings that made it such a friendly place have been loaded on a truck, along with her furniture and even her car, and are probably making their way through the Midwest along about now. 
Josie's been a part of our family for a long time. I met her in a painting class over ten years ago and was drawn to her because she always had a quiet smile as if she saw a bit of a giggle in everything. 

I even wrote about Josie in Art's Blood - she was the one who ushered the obnoxious woman on the cell phone out of the class -- something that actually happened.
We'll stay in touch by the internet and I plan to go visit Josie -- and she says she'll come back to see us.

But still -- there's an empty spot in our lives today and even the spring flowers look a little sad..