October

October. The month of reds, oranges and yellows. The month that really ushers in fall, cooler weather and less humidity. The month I long for after a long hot summer because it is the transition month before all hell breaks loose for winter. The month when the winds are gentle and the sun gets to shine its light without being diffused by high humidity. I love October as you can tell. It is one of my favorite months of the year because it is the month of transition.
And today marks the birthday of a woman who helped to save my life. A woman whose family took me in at a time in my life when I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. A woman and her family who showed me that family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but sometimes means strangers who welcome us in without question. Who open up their home to us as if we are one of their own as her family did for me more than 30 years ago when I was a struggling student trying to find my way in a country that was not my own.
When my friend who will always hold a special place in my heart even though we have not spoken in years, welcomed me into her family. Allowed me into her personal space. Extended her family to me as if we were blood sisters. Making such an impression on me that though life has taken us on different paths, my connection with her has never diminished. I have never forgotten her birthday. Never stopped thinking about her and wishing her well.
So today I have decided that time has waited long enough for us to be reacquainted. Long enough for the distance between us to exist no more. That it is time for me to acknowledge her publicly for the angel she was and will always be for me. By opening her home to me, her parents and sisters welcoming me like I was one of their own, they had no idea how close I was to giving up. To letting go off my dream. But she showed up at the right time in the right place for us to be together. To deliver me from my own darkness that was threatening to pull me down.
Without them coming into my life at a time when my own blood relatives could not help me, they helped to propel me to this place I am today. I know for sure without them, there was no way I would have been able to finish University. No way I would have remained sane. So I am forevermore grateful to my dear friend Juanita Dean and her family who will always be my family.
And I am shouting out Happy Birthday to her in a public way that she will probably hate because she does not like to be in the limelight. But sometimes when our hearts are full and we understand the importance of people that come into our lives and though time and distance has kept us apart, we need to show them they will always hold a special place in our hearts and souls. Their actions teach us there is no time and distance between those who are always connected in ways least understood.
October, one of my favorite months of the year with its reds, yellows and oranges, pumpkins, Halloween, cooler weather and its transitional phase when everything in nature bursts into full color and vibrancy before fading away and in some cases dying off for the cold winter. Giving themselves time to rest before coming back again. Just like my friendship with Juanita. A time when we were apart until it was time for us to be back together again as is the time now.
Explaining so much why I love October because it is the month when my angel came to Earth some 6 months before I did in 1962 to wait for me to show up in her life, in a different year,  in a different country to let me know that family does not necessarily mean blood relatives. It means those who would go to the ends of the Earth for us no matter what and they will never do anything to harm us, only to help us.
Happy birthday my dear friend, Juanita Dean - love you more than words could ever explain and thank you for being my family at a time when I needed family more than anything. And for you, Ma, James, Nikki and Dee Dee I am truly grateful. Enjoy your day. Namaste.