Just a thought… Distance means so little, when someone means so much. [Tom McNeal]

Ah, the waning days of July. What a turn the mood of our neighbours to the south took last week…and I confess to feeling swept up in a wave of hope.

Add to that the spectacle of the Paris Olympics opener and Céline Dion’s incroyable performance of “Hymne à l’amour” from the balcony of the Eiffel Tower (which should have been accompanied by a Flood Warning, not just for the Parisian rain, but the tears from viewers around the world), and it was a good, good week for the heart…with the exception of the devastation in glorious Jasper National Park. Oh, the heartache….

There was another big reason for an upswing in my decidedly blue mood of the past few months: a surprise gesture of kindness and compassion that came my way.

Let me explain by asking you a question: when you were a kid, did you ever have a pen pal? I don’t think I did. I barely had any real-life friends, because of moving all the time as a kid (something that has been linked to depression in adults in a study Lisa Brandt and I will be discussing this Thursday on Ep 84 of our Gracefully & Frankly podcast).

Last week for only 48 hours, I was visited by an Ontario pen pal. That’s right; we’d never met. We had exchanged countless emails and texts over the past few years as we shared our triumphs and heartaches. Then, knowing I was in an emotional ditch, she told me last Sunday she was getting on a plane, and she did. Wednesday to Friday was our time.

Someone wiser than I said there are three things you should have in life:

Something to do

Someone to love

and Something to look forward to/hope for.

Andrea’s visit rolled all three into one. Kindred spirits in many ways, we cemented our friendship with long heart-to-heart talks, some great reading recommendations (from her to me) including Build the Life You Want by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey, and a whole lot of sight-seeing.

The purpose of her don’t-bother-changing-your-body-clock brief visit was not to share in some of the area’s loveliest views, but I figured if someone’s going to go to all of this trouble and expense, how could I not at least attempt to add to her memories. So we hit up a few of the places cruise visitors go.

Here are a few things we experienced together. There was the view of the fjord from the Villa Eyrie in Malahat.

The world-famous Butchart Gardens.

You can feel the peace here. And if you’re really lucky – there’s no one in the shot (it was a busy day, as usual at Butchart)!

Victoria’s inner harbour, where planes, boats and whale watching tours keep the waterways busy.

And, of course, she was as in love with Dottie and Livi as they were captivated by her!

Oh, and that Ontario body clock meant Andrea got to capture something I’ve yet to see: the sunrise from our balcony.

I can’t even put into words what her visit meant to me and to my spirits. As I count down to my dear friend and G&F better half Lisa Brandt’s arrival one week today, I can only say thank-you. To friends I’ve met, to those I haven’t, and to you for sharing this ride with me. The horse (or that damned pony in the poo I’m always digging for) goes up and down and as long as we stay on it, we’ll be okay.

Here’s to another go-round this week. GO Canada, kudos to Queen Céline, and you take care of yourself. Maybe connect with someone who misses you – even if you’ve never met (but don’t respond to weird friend requests on Facebook from men with two first names LOL).