I am known to have had some weird dreams. Usually, I can trace the vivid details back to some good pepperoni or sausage. But I haven’t had any lately. In fact I’ve been battling a head cold so maybe OTC decongestants and sleep deprivation was a contributing factor.

The other night, I dreamt I had purchased a radio station in Surprise, CO {about the only thing I know about radio as a media outlet is listening and I Googled Surprise, CO — it doesn’t exist except, I guess, in the recesses of my mind}.

Of course, details stood out … like the shower next to my bed at the hotel {don’t ask} and my new staff {although I couldn’t recognize any of them}. Nonetheless, my new secretary knocked on the door to remind me I had a lunch engagement. So off I went to meet up with Karen {I did recognize her and, yeah! she’s still in my mind}.

There we were, walking through Surprise … past the combination grade, middle and high school in three wings off a common commons … across the railroad tracks … down the main three block drag with wooden sidewalks.

We ended up in a general store. As we were walking past the flannel shirts {flannel again?} a woman with a blue and white scarf on her head walked up to Karen and commandeered her away from me. As they talked, they held hands and shared words, ending in a big hug.

As Karen caught up to me I asked her who that was, knowing she was ever newer to Surprise than I was. “I don’t know,” she responded, although I could detect a tear in her eye. “I never saw her before, but she wanted to thank me.”

“For what?”

“For being with her as she went through chemo…”

Of course, that’s when I woke up. As I tried to focus, I remembered a conversation Karen and I had while she was going through chemotherapy. She told me while she was appreciative of me going with her, holding her hand, talking with her and being her fingers as she completed her Mother’s Legacy, she was most thankful for her friend Marlene, at the time a cancer survivor who helped her get through the early days of her diagnosis — despite being 750 miles away.

That must have been the takeaway from the dream … sharing our experiences. I have a very special friend, a widow, who has lovingly taken me under her wing to help me transition through the stages of widowhood after Karen died — from grieving to acceptance. And I paid it forward with Fred, Marlene’s husband, after she died.

It’s a tough job. You have to be able to discern how much information to share and at what time. Sometimes the best words are unsaid … just being on the other side of the line through a tearfest or a simple and heartfelt “I understand” or sending an unexpected word of encouragement.

Fred recently died, but I had the opportunity to catch up with him in Wisconsin for a visit and dinner last spring. During our conversation, the words I remember most were when he said how appreciative he was I helped him get through Marlene’s death. I told him I didn’t do much, but he said, “You were there … and you understood. You didn’t tell me what to do, but allowed me to find my way.”

There’s a special fraternity/sorority for people who share similar experiences, be it widowhood, fighting cancer or any other addiction or shared experience. While everyone goes through their own journey, it’s a comfort when a friend says, “I know what you’re going through” and you know it’s true.

I know I can do better to reach out to others. I know many of you have as well. But that’s the challenge of the vision … being open to walk with someone else on their journey.

And there is a woman in Surprise, CO, who was truly touched by an angel.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: A clear conscience is to the soul what health is to the body.