Love Doesn't Tell Time

Sometimes it takes years to build a friendship with someone. Developing trust and breaking down walls usually just takes time. Then one day, we meet someone and within five minutes we feel we have known them for our entire lives. They just recognize the real us. The person we hide behind all the armour and facades we put up. It’s almost as though we have known each other in other lifetimes. Sometimes life even gets in the way and we won't talk for months. Just to pick things up right where we left off. Time is funny like that. And while time brings people into our lives, we learn it also takes them away. As life goes on without them, we realize they are never really gone. They are in the memories we keep, the smiles on our faces, the trinkets we can't seem to part with, and the person we become. Perhaps all their hugs gave us the strength we needed to live without them. Their belief in us was stock in the dream that we were able to create because of them. And their love not only saved us but all the people whose lives we touched by carrying it along with us. 

Ellen knew of Sirr Bonner years before they actually became friends. Then one night they ran into each other at a party. Sirr has one of those personalities that lights up a room. His energy makes you feel safe enough to talk about things you’ve never told anyone before. Simply because you know he would never judge you. And that is exactly what Ellen did the first night she talked with him. She asked him to walk her to her car, and it ended in a two-hour long car talk on her hidden struggle with mental health. Soon they were facetiming nearly every day and reading each other’s minds. Occasionally, Ellen’s health issues draw major concerns. One night she was really struggling, and it concerned Sirr so much that he wanted to call an ambulance. She told him she didn’t have good health insurance to cover the ambulance. He told her not to worry he would cover it; she just needed to get help immediately. Then after the ambulance brought her to the hospital, he sat with her. Not because he had to but because he wanted to be there.  On Ellen’s twenty-first birthday, she didn’t want to do anything because it was a weeknight and she had to work early in the morning. Sirr insisted it was a special day, and she deserves to celebrate herself. So, after some convincing, she went to Hy-Vee to buy her first drink. Then later they did a photoshoot to commemorate the big day. Sirr always had a way of making people feel special. 

In July of 2025, Sirr Bonner was tragically murdered at just 22 years old. They had almost two years with each other in this life. The last message Ellen ever received from him said, “I would do anything for you.” She couldn’t think of better words for him to leave her with. Even though several months have gone by since his passing, he is still with her. She thanks her spirituality for this. After he passed, she asked him to let her know when he crossed over. That night, he came to her in a dream. He was sitting in a lawn chair by a lake. But it wasn’t a dream. It was too real. He always sat in lawn chairs during their bonfires. That time was special to him because his friends meant everything to him. She can still feel the tight hug he gave her too. Even though his hand hasn’t opened up his front door in months, he is still there every day she drives by it. And even though he doesn’t answer his phone when she calls, she still talks to him every day. 

As a child, Ellen used to collect beanie babies. Then one day she couldn’t remember where they went. They seemingly disappeared almost as quickly as her childhood did. But today she still has one beanie baby sitting in her room. It doesn’t trace back to her childhood though, but instead from the night of her 21st birthday. While at Hy-Vee together, Sirr bought it for her so she could honor the child within her. It’s been the closest thing she has left of him. The quote on it reads, “I make a wish my darling dear, to hold you close and have you near. The two of us will always be, living together happily.” 

Ellen and Sirr remind us that love doesn't tell time. Time does not necessarily make a friendship stronger. It doesn't mean a friendship with history means more than a fresh one. Love also exists in the gaps of time that we get too carried away to reach out. And love always lasts after a connection ends. After all, in the end, love is the only thing we can bring with us.

THAT'S LOVE.

Shana Schoone writes “The Heart of Omaha,” a weekly column celebrating all the ways love is shown in the O.