I am a fortunate person. I have some great friends. Some have been friends for a short period....others have been friends for over 50 years. Chuck and Sue fall into the later category...at least Sue does. Chuckles comes along by default. Susan and I met I think the first day I moved into the neighborhood on El Prado. She lived just around the corner and we had so much in common it was eerie. We still do....and the funny thing is that we can be apart from each other for months at a time and when we get together it is as if no time passed at all. When my parents disappeared I called Sue...she is my daughter Kat's godmother(not the fairy kind)...and I needed one of my fiercest praying friends. I wanted some prayer results that first night....so I called and left her a message. On Thursday, they were on their way down. I can't tell you what having them here did for me. During their entire visit I did not have to think...they did it for me. I just had to function and that was about all I could do. What an amazing friend Susan is. I can't imagine life without her...or Chuck in it. I am blessed with amazing friends like them.
Most people are lucky to have one special friend in their life. I have several....but only two old ones that I am still in contact with. I know for a fact that I met Carol on my very first day in the neighborhood and to quote Mr. Rodgers...when I met her...it WAS truly a beautiful day in my neighborhood. I did not want to move to El Prado...of course I was only 5 years old...so what did I know. Carol was the cutest thing I had ever seen. She was so tiny. My little two and a half year old brother was taller than she was at age 5. She was the first person I ever knew with a birthday on or near Christmas...and I always felt a bit sad for her because people would only give her one gift...for both. I have always made a habit of giving her one for each(wrapped in birthday and Christmas paper too)...this is a practice I continue to this day. If you look at her picture she does not look any different than she did when we were younger....lots younger...Carol was with me when my brother died. She has heard me wail and moan over some boy, she has done things we really shouldn't have done with me, started kindergarten with me at Vedado Park, walked to school with me the first time we were allowed to, ridden bikes with me, spent the night with me, was a Brownie with me, we were inseperable. She called my dad Derf...he called her lorac....(their names backwards)...she was so effervescent. The only thing we didn't do...was share smarts. For Carol learning happened...for me it was an uphill climb everyday. I have begged her more than once to hold her report card until after some event I wanted to attend...so I would not be grounded. She has always been a thoughtful friend. We shared a major love of music and she has compiled a whole series of CD's for me with music through the ages. Not only do I love this gift, but my daughter Kat loves it too. She borrows them from time to time for some project she is doing. I love the fact that although we are mother and daughter and we weren't born in the same era...sometimes I feel as if we were. Carol, on my 40th birthday made me a scrapbook of things I had forgotten. I was telling someone the other day about how different I am now than I used to be. 40 years ago...I would never have spoken in front of people. There was a trash can at the door to the sanctuary for me to vomit in before a solo...and somewhere between here and there...I have forgotten that person...and become who I am today. It is nice from time to time to revisit who we once were....it gives us a new respect for who we now are. Carol's husband Jeff went to school with us. He is the handsome blonde guy in the family photo. He definitely has not aged a bit. Jeff and I bowled together when we were in college and we also rode to classes together. Jeff had a bright red camaro. It was fun riding with him. He had a great sense of humor and was crazy about Carol. I think I was perchance a wee bit jealous of that fact at age 18. I moved to Alabama at 19, met and married my first husband and the rest was history....and you know I understand a lot about history...it is important...because history (even your own) is what connects you to the past...and allows the future to be. Carol lives in South Carolina now. Her husband has retired. Talk about six degrees of separation....they live in Summerville, SC....where my sweet Frank hailed from. Who knows we might eventually settle there ourselves when I retire....ahhh retirement....that is another topic for another day! Friends are wonderful to have. I am lucky to have the ones I have...Old friends are the best. They knew you when...and still manage to love you. Thank You my two oldest and dearest friends. You are both very special to me. I can't imagine my life without either of you in it...
I am a fortunate person. I have some great friends. Some have been friends for a short period....others have been friends for over 50 years. Chuck and Sue fall into the later category...at least Sue does. Chuckles comes along by default. Susan and I met I think the first day I moved into the neighborhood on El Prado. She lived just around the corner and we had so much in common it was eerie. We still do....and the funny thing is that we can be apart from each other for months at a time and when we get together it is as if no time passed at all. When my parents disappeared I called Sue...she is my daughter Kat's godmother(not the fairy kind)...and I needed one of my fiercest praying friends. I wanted some prayer results that first night....so I called and left her a message. On Thursday, they were on their way down. I can't tell you what having them here did for me. During their entire visit I did not have to think...they did it for me. I just had to function and that was about all I could do. What an amazing friend Susan is. I can't imagine life without her...or Chuck in it. I am blessed with amazing friends like them. 
Most people are lucky to have one special friend in their life. I have several....but only two old ones that I am still in contact with. I know for a fact that I met Carol on my very first day in the neighborhood and to quote Mr. Rodgers...when I met her...it WAS truly a beautiful day in my neighborhood. I did not want to move to El Prado...of course I was only 5 years old...so what did I know. Carol was the cutest thing I had ever seen. She was so tiny. My little two and a half year old brother was taller than she was at age 5. She was the first person I ever knew with a birthday on or near Christmas...and I always felt a bit sad for her because people would only give her one gift...for both. I have always made a habit of giving her one for each(wrapped in birthday and Christmas paper too)...this is a practice I continue to this day. If you look at her picture she does not look any different than she did when we were younger....lots younger...Carol was with me when my brother died. She has heard me wail and moan over some boy, she has done things we really shouldn't have done with me, started kindergarten with me at Vedado Park, walked to school with me the first time we were allowed to, ridden bikes with me, spent the night with me, was a Brownie with me, we were inseperable. She called my dad Derf...he called her lorac....(their names backwards)...she was so effervescent. The only thing we didn't do...was share smarts. For Carol learning happened...for me it was an uphill climb everyday. I have begged her more than once to hold her report card until after some event I wanted to attend...so I would not be grounded. She has always been a thoughtful friend. We shared a major love of music and she has compiled a whole series of CD's for me with music through the ages. Not only do I love this gift, but my daughter Kat loves it too. She borrows them from time to time for some project she is doing. I love the fact that although we are mother and daughter and we weren't born in the same era...sometimes I feel as if we were. Carol, on my 40th birthday made me a scrapbook of things I had forgotten. I was telling someone the other day about how different I am now than I used to be. 40 years ago...I would never have spoken in front of people. There was a trash can at the door to the sanctuary for me to vomit in before a solo...and somewhere between here and there...I have forgotten that person...and become who I am today. It is nice from time to time to revisit who we once were....it gives us a new respect for who we now are. Carol's husband Jeff went to school with us. He is the handsome blonde guy in the family photo. He definitely has not aged a bit. Jeff and I bowled together when we were in college and we also rode to classes together. Jeff had a bright red camaro. It was fun riding with him. He had a great sense of humor and was crazy about Carol. I think I was perchance a wee bit jealous of that fact at age 18. I moved to Alabama at 19, met and married my first husband and the rest was history....and you know I understand a lot about history...it is important...because history (even your own) is what connects you to the past...and allows the future to be. Carol lives in South Carolina now. Her husband has retired. Talk about six degrees of separation....they live in Summerville, SC....where my sweet Frank hailed from. Who knows we might eventually settle there ourselves when I retire....ahhh retirement....that is another topic for another day! Friends are wonderful to have. I am lucky to have the ones I have...Old friends are the best. They knew you when...and still manage to love you. Thank You my two oldest and dearest friends. You are both very special to me. I can't imagine my life without either of you in it...
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