The minister at today’s funeral of an old friend said just that from the pulpit: Life is a series of meetings and partings.

Later he paired those with happiness and sorrows, joy and suffering. And he really got me thinking.

The funeral was for a lovely lady I had known since the first Christmas I lived here 44 years ago. I met Adele in our neighborhood, and she and her husband attended our first party, a trim-a-tree brunch. The admission fee was an ornament – preferably homemade. Hers was adorable, a precursor of the talents she would later display when she opened her beautiful flower and gift shop.

I sat in the pew looking at the backs of her family’s heads, realizing that our original meeting had now come full circle and today was the final parting. And look what had happened in between – those grown children, their weddings, the now-grown grandchildren, the loss of her husband.

I realized that you can sum up someone’s life that easily – family occasions, relatives, work lives. But from the time of our first meeting, every occasion with Adele revealed the woman she was. She radiated happiness, old-fashioned, lady-like manners, a genuine niceness, and an enviable elegance. I know for a fact she never owned jeans.

She was one of those admirable folks who never complained. When she ran into some physical challenges while running her shop, no customer ever knew. She was from the “Never explain, never complain” school. The only thing you could always count on was a welcoming smile. I commented one day, “Adele, nobody is as gracious and happy as you are ALL the time.

How do you do it?”

And Adele, ever self-effacing, replied, “Oh don’t be silly. Aren’t you always happy?”

I’m sure she had her moments as we all do, but in Adele’s world, difficulties were left at home.

Now this gracious lady has taken her proverbial smile to another place, taking with her my joy in knowing her, my sadness at her parting.

But as I reflected on Adele’s leaving, and what the minister said, I thought about a myriad of meetings and partings. At my age, it’s sometimes difficult to remember all of those who have departed from my life. Some of those partings continue in my thoughts and my tear ducts, often at the same time.

But what about the initial meetings?

When I was a kid, I made friends who became my “besties.” Some were torn away by their dad’s job transfer, illnesses, family problems – and I had to learn about goodbyes. Youth, however, provides a future. Meetings and partings continue weaving into our lives. We meet, we share, and often, we part.

But some of them are keepers, the ones we hold close. And we find a way. Despite the fact that my dearest friend lives in New York City, we manage to hang on, sharing our joys, and yes, our mutual losses. Our meeting created an irreplaceable joy in my life. Unless we go out like Thelma and Louise, I can’t comprehend the suffering when one of us leaves the other behind.

In my 30s, I had a much older friend who was thrilled when her husband retired. He had suddenly become both thoughtful and helpful. She laughingly commented to me, “Ya know, if I’d had any idea we were going to cross the finish line together, I’d have been a lot nicer to him!”

As I watched them move away to a new life, it was with sorrow, but I held onto the joy of having known them.

Meeting someone new is always exciting for me. We never know when the next person we meet might turn out to be a sometime friend or a lifelong friend. Maybe it’s a card-playing friend, a book-reading friend, or a movie-going friend. We give it a chance, and the relationships that color our lives all begin with that first meeting.

After today’s funeral, I attended a Christmas luncheon at a local club. I sat beside a charming woman whom I had been introduced to before, but we had never chatted. We spent most of the lunch talking about elderly mothers and gardening. It was a delight. I look forward to getting to know her better, and it all began with serendipitous seating – the first meeting.

The minister said life was a series of meetings and partings, joys and sorrows. I’m going to focus on the “series” and continue to meet new friends, adding new joys to my life.

The French say “Joie de vivre!” the joy of living. Maybe that’s why I admired Adele so much. She lived her best life, the happiness way. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Marcy O’Brien can be reached at Moby.32@hotmail.com.