Kat's mom

Is there someone you haven't heard from eons but you often thought about them? Last week I received a surprise call from a long time school friend, Katrin. It's been quite some time since I last met her over a lunch date in Cikarang (two or three years ago). I was having an appointment with my customer in the industrial area there and meet up with Kat before returning to Jakarta. Kat's husband works in a Japanese automotive electronics company in Cikarang, which is why they chose to buy a house in that area to save cost and time.

We still kept in touch by phone. The last time I got update from her was when her parents decided to sell their house in Jakarta and bought a house near Kat's place. However, as often happens, we lost contact somehow. I was so happy to hear Kat's voice again. But I was also mad at her for not telling me her new phone number and left me and my other classmate in the dark of her whereabout. She lost her cellphone and couldn't find my number until one day she accidentally found my number in a piece of a tiny paper inside her drawer. Hmmm...excuses, excuses!

We shared our girlie stories and it really brought back some good memories we once shared. We laughed about weight changes and life changes, about our everyday experiences and gossips about our classmates. Kat and I studied in a Catholic all girls high school where boys are considered as a rare species!

After some pleasantries exchange, she blurted out that her mother has been on dialysis for her kidney since January 2007, due to a complication of her diabetes. Since then her mom has been in and out of the hospital. I was totally sad by this shocking news. She added ..."I called you because I knew you'd make me feel better..." This words touched my heart so deeply.

Fast forward, I remembered one incident with Kat's mom that made me scared to contact Kat by phone ever again. The story goes back about twenty years or so ago (this makes me sounds old and wrinkle...LOL!). On one rainy day I tried to contact Kat thru a public phone. Her mom was on the other side of the line. I greeted her politely and asked if Kat was around, but she sounded unhappy and scolded me not to dial the number if I didn't have any intention to talk on the phone!!! I was so shocked esp. when she slammed the phone down, not knowing what had I done wrong. When I told Kat about this she burst out in fits of laughter cos her mom has mistaken me with her younger sis admirer. Kat's younger sister, Cecilia, has had an admirer that her mom didn't like at all. Whenever the boy called Kat's home and her mom answered the phone, he would hang up. The day I rang Kat, her mom had picked up the phone for the umpteenth times ... then it was quiet. I didn't know the public phone that I used didn't work well (I could hear Kat's mom voice but not the other way around) which led her to believe I was the same boy who was trying to date her daughter! d'oh!!!

Well, the past few days, I have been browsing as many information as possible about Chronic Renal Failure's diet and emailed them to Kat. It's too bad I could not find diet book for this disease in Jakarta as there are many food restriction her mom has to follow and it takes quite a bit of planning to prepare the foods. I may have to ask my sweetie to order the book from Canada.

Am so glad Kat rang me. Sometimes in a time of crisis, we need to reach out to another person. Being a friend, I may not always have the answers, but at least I have a listening ears and I want her to know that she is not alone. I hope and pray that His benevolence and guidance will see Kat's family through this trying time.