An extra special friend

map of wilson, nc

When I was six years old, my family moved to Wilson, NC where we would soon meet the Daniels family. Mrs. Daniels became one of my mother’s closest friends, so our families socialized frequently. I was younger than the Daniels’ youngest, so I was more of a tag-a-long than a peer; but still, I remember.

Here, Anna Daniels Anderson recalls her younger sister, Beth. She’ll tell you about the struggles Beth faced and the victories she celebrated. I’ll leave that to her.

But I’ll say this: knowing Beth Daniels made me a better me. Because of Beth, I’ve never been intimidated by wheelchairs or braces, or any other physical difference. Shoot, I remember one time when Beth had some surgery or another and she had to be in this weird contraption for months (at least that’s what it seemed like to me). We’d go over to the Daniels’ house and Beth managed–even strapped to that bed/board/whatever-it-was–to participate in whatever we were doing. We told jokes, we giggled, we played games, we had fun just being little girls.

Beth never tried to teach me how to treat someone who had physical limitations. I never studied her like some kind of science project. We just shared a childhood. That’s all. And that’s everything. And I am grateful.

 

via Remembering Beth

By Aileen MItchell Lawrimore

Aileen Mitchell Lawrimore is a mother x 3, wife x 35 (years not men), minister, speaker, writer, retreat leader, and lover of beagles and books. She has a lot to say.