It was with sadness that I learned yesterday that my friend, Lil Sakol, had passed away.  Seeing I was sad, Martin told me "It's okay momma.  'Little' was old and she just died.  That's what happens when you get old.  It's not sad.  Now take a deep breath."  And he's right.  It is sad but also I feel so lucky.  Lucky to have worked with such a nice woman, and grateful to have had her friendship.

When Lil and I first started working together, it was to have her proof my writing for errors.  She was strict with her red pen, always noting that I use too many commas and calling the Minneapolis Library for confirmation on her grammatical corrections.  We talked a lot about places we'd traveled, things to see in some of our favorite cities.  I marveled when she told me that she would be packing a pumpkin and all kinds of other ingredients in her suitcase and hauling them to Austria so that her daughter could make some specialty dishes for Thanksgiving.  When I started dating Marty, she was thrilled for me and wanted to talk about all the nice restaurants where he should take me for dinner.  She gave Marty and me a lovely glass serving piece as a wedding gift.  She made special socks and clothing for my kids.  She held my hand while we talked about my "boyfriend" (even after he was my husband), marveled at the miracle of motherhood, and the homes in which we lived.  After I moved to Hutchinson, I would go see her every week when I was in the office.  "Do you love it there?" she would ask each time, smiling as I described the town and my growing family.

It was unusual to see someone that looked like a stereotypical retiree still at the office, and people often asked Lil how old she was.  She would lean in closely and say conspiratorially, "Can you keep a secret?"  Everyone would answer, "Yes", hardly believing that they would be so lucky to find out the mysterious number.  She'd smile and say, "So can I."  So, now in her passing, I do know how old she was and I'm a bit disappointed that the mystery for me has ended.  But if you want to know, you won't hear it from me.  Because for Lil, I can keep a secret.