Drop everything, the goldfish is sick!

When Andrea was about 4 years old, she had a goldfish that she named "Berty-bert" after Sesame Street's, Bert.  I have no idea why she loved that goldfish as much as she did, but with a little lisp in her words, she would talk and talk and talk to that little fishy every day.  Life for all of us comes to an end, and that includes goldfish.  One day, Andrea skipped on over to the fish bowl to feed Bert and she said "something is wrong with Berty Bert because he is swimming upside down."  Uh huh, he sure was.  The fish was in trouble and I knew his life was at its end.  I tried carefully to explain that her fish was sick and there was nothing we could do to help him.  She screamed and cried and begged me to take it to the doctor.  Well, of course I didn't and within 30 minutes, Bert went to the giant fish-tank in the sky.  Andrea was inconsolable.  I explained that fish don't live long and we enjoyed him while we could, and it would be ok.  Nope, it didn't work.  Nothing helped.  So, I called Mark Searle to the rescue.  He was at work and I asked if he could please talk to her on the phone.  She cried as he listened to her broken heart over precious Berty Bert.  I heard her say "ok, daddy, thank you."  And she hung up.  She looked at me and said "daddy is coming over right now!"  "What??  Dad is coming here after work you mean?  Right?"  And she said "no, he is coming right now."  The man must have driven 90 mph to get there because within 15 minutes he was pulling in the driveway.  He walked in the door and scooped up his tiny little girl in his big ol' arms and snuggled up with her in the rocking chair.  He held her and rocked her and rubbed her back as she snotted and wept uncontrollably on his dress shirt and tie.  He promised her the moon if she would stop crying.  Eventually she calmed down and wrapped her little arms around his neck and kissed his face.  I must have said 5 times "Are you crazy to leave work for a goldfish? Really, Mark.  She would have been fine."
And he said "I know she would have been fine, but she needed a hug and she is more fine now."
He gave both of his girls a kiss and out the door he went back to work with tear-soaked clothing and a daughter and wife that learned to love him even more that day.
This week, after losing my friend D Carole Stanley, I want to call Mark at work and tell him how sad I am.  I need to tell him that something really sad happened.  I want to tell him that my husband who was my best friend and my girlfriend aren't here anymore and my heart is broken.  I want him to come home and scoop me up and hold me until I feel better and cry on his broad shoulders.  But instead, I stand on the promise of eternal life.  I stand on the love that we shared.  I stand on the lessons learned from a man, a girl, and a goldfish... that it is never, ever, not-ever ridiculous to drop everything and tell someone you love them.  Ok, now I'm crying again...