Empathy?

One of my mother's best friends would describe,to me, how she missed my deceased mother.  She created word pictures of laughing with her friend or how my mother could crack problems through
research.

I thanked my mother's friend and thought I understood.. I did not..Loosing a childhood friend has
taught me what I did not know..anything I may have thought I knew about empathy has  gone
up in ashes this week