It was back in the late 70s in Arlington when Barbara Blevins became close friends with neighbor Jean Perry.
"You know how families connect through kids,โ Blevins said. โThat's how we connected, and we just became friends."
As their children grew up together, they shared a lot of good times. Like many friends, they were a little different.
"She was flamboyant and not like me at all,โ Blevins said. โWe were opposites and funny. She had a good sense of humor."
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Nearly two years ago Perry passed away, but Blevins still sees her friend's house almost daily.
"I drive by there and I go, 'I don't believe you're gone,'โ Blevins said. โIt's hard to believe it."
Her friend is gone, but in a strange way, not forgotten.
Back in 2006, while Perry was visiting family in Florida, she sent Blevins a postcard. Through an odd set of circumstances, the postcard wasn't delivered for nearly two decades and when it finally was it was taken to the wrong home. The man who received the postcard realized it was sent 17 years ago and mistakenly delivered to him so he shared his story on Facebook hoping to find Blevins.
As it turned out, Blevins saw his post and told him she lived just down the street.
"How cool is that,โ Blevins said. โI'm going '2006? 17 years!' It was a shock."
She was also shocked and tickled by the image on the card.
"Naked woman laying on her belly,โ Blevins said, describing the postcard. โCatching a few rays in Florida is what it says,โ she laughed.
"The guy was giving it to me, and I went, 'Oh!' He said, 'Don't worry about it. She had a sense of humor, didn't she?' And I said, 'She did," Blevins recalled.
That sense of humor brings joy to Blevinsโs life all these years later.ย The postcard was lost in the mail all these years, but the message was right on time.
"I kind of feel that way. Like, [a] 'Hang in there' type of message,โ Blevins said. โ'Everything is going to be a good' type of message because that's what she would say."
Blevins hopes sharing her story brings hope to others who may have lost someone close to them.
"They're out there,โ Blevins said. โBlessings will come your way. I feel like I got one, you know. Even though when I look at it I go, 'Oh Jean,'โ she added laughing.
SOMETHING GOOD
Get updates on what's happening in North Texas to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.