Friday, June 21, 2013

Best Friends For-evah!


I have a confession to make – I have more than one best friend.  In fact, I have quite a few.  More than two, but less than 10.  Sometimes is depends on the mood I’m in.  Right now, I’m in a grateful, loving mood.  And since I’m so blessed to have these wonderful friends, I want to share them with you, in no particular order.

1.       Laura Beth Bacon Rose:  Laura was my very first best friend.  She lived across the street from my grandparents until I was about five years old.  We don’t remember being thrown together to play before Kindergarten, but I’m sure we were.  The first week of Kindergarten, however, sealed the deal.  I cried; Laura consoled.  And our relationship has been like that ever since; me the needy drama queen and Laura the solid rock, ever present, and always a calming force.  Laura is a different kind of best friend; not the kind you call regularly or go shopping with, or  name your children after (although I really did think about it), but I know that, as long as we live, Laura will always be a part of my life.  She is the godliest of women; a strong, beautiful person inside and out.  A true best friend.

2.       Lisa Palmer Timbrook: Lisa and I became fast friends the first day she started working at the same CPA firm.  She was management; I was support.  But we had one very important thing in common – we don’t like people.  Seriously, if we had time alone to just sit and do whatever we want, we’d probably sit in a mall and make fun of what people were wearing!  We are the Stacy London and Clinton Kelly of the real world. (Don’t ask me who is who.)  Lisa was the Matron of Honor at my wedding and the first person I called when my mom died.  She flew from DC to be with me and stayed several days away from her small child just to get me through that time.  Since we live so far apart now, I don’t see her nearly enough and I miss her like crazy.  But who else could I count on to call me just to make fun of Kanye and Kim’s baby??  Only a best friend.

3.       Leigh Anne Watkins Henry: I like to say that, if I ever decide I’m a lesbian, I’m going to marry Leigh Anne.  She is my female soul mate.  And our love story is one made for the movies.  You see, Leigh Anne and I were friends in middle school and our first year of high school.  Then her mom re-married and she moved away.  I remember her going-away party so well.  I was heart-broken.  Fast forward 30 years later and through the magic that is Facebook, I find Leigh Anne!  Or she found me; I can’t really remember.  We’ve been inseparable ever since.  Leigh Anne is a true hero; someone who has fought more adversity than you could imagine, all with a grace and humor and optimism that anyone would envy.  She’s also one of the kindest, most caring people you could ever meet.  What kind of friend would drop everything and spend a Friday night at a 9-year-old’s birthday party, just to cheer her up?  A best friend, that’s who.

4.       Teri Byrd and Donna Weeks:  My sisters.  They’re listed together because how could I pick just one?  That’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is.  Sisters are people who you grow up having to like, but if you’re lucky, like I am, you actually do like in adulthood.  My sisters and I couldn’t be less alike.  We run the gambit from tattooed artist to Pentecostal teacher; first baby at 19 to first baby at 39; a compassionate nurturer to a sickness wienie (that would be me, by the way).  But even with our differences, we are friends.  We stick together no matter what; mess with one of us and you mess with all of us!  Even if we disagree, we always have the other’s back.  We might not spend a lot of time together, but I still consider them two of my very best friends.

5.       Sharon Williams: My sissy.  Not sisters by blood, but sisters by love.  Sharon and I have also known each other since early childhood.  We were never extremely close growing up, but we liked each other and talked sometimes.  In the past 10 years, however, I’ve learned what a spectacular person she is!  She was also there for me when my mom died, and through all my other dramas.  Funny, kind, fiercely loyal, Sharon is exactly the friend you want in your corner. My sister from another mister, and definitely a best friend.

6.       Renee Hart: Renee is new to my best friend world. In fact, she probably doesn’t even realize she is one!  Renee and I met last Fall when our kids were placed in the same room at school.  I had parked behind or beside Renee in the school pick-up line almost the entire previous year without knowing who she was.  When we finally realized our connection, we began talking.  I immediately knew she was going to be a friend.  I just didn’t realize how good of one!  Through our conversations, Renee and I discovered that we were born exactly four days apart.  Ah….another “mature mother!”  We also discovered our mutual vices, dislikes, and the desperate need for adult conversation!  We started getting to school 1-1/2 hours before the end of the day just so we could talk!  Since school is out for the Summer, I’ve realized how much I miss those talks and Renee herself.  But, since Tessa has proclaimed that she is going to marry Renee’s son, Spencer, one day, at least I know we’ll be life-long best friends!

7.       Tessa Merrilee Williams: That’s right; my daughter.  I know that parents aren’t supposed to be friends with their kids, and I realize that my kid is only nine.  But considering that I spend more time with her than anyone else, she is definitely a best friend!  Funny, smart-alecky, intelligent and extremely sarcastic (just like her mom), she is a pleasure to be with.  Oh sure…I complain about her dirty room and her dismissive eye rolls, but I also love to talk about her compassion, her maturity, and her complete love for her parents.  My mini-best friend and the light of my heart.  I’m proud to call her my daughter.

8.       Don Williams: My dear love.  No one in the world knows me better than this man.  It sounds cliché, but he truly knows me better than I know myself.  He often knows what I need or want before I do.  It’s a rare man with the intuition and knowledge to understand a woman!  More than that, he’s hilariously funny, incredibly romantic, highly intelligent, and crazy sexy.  There’s no one in the world I like to be with more than he.  Don is absolutely the love of my life and most certainly my best friend.

Now, I know this has been a long post and you probably got tired of reading after number 1 or 2, but I hope you read through them all.  These are amazing people; each special in their own way. Each of them has their own spot in my heart and in my life.  Like I said, I am BLESSED. 

 

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