03 November 2008

Friends

I have a lot of friends. Most of my friends are better friends to me than I am to them. I admit that I'm really not a very attentive friend, and sometimes that rolls over into "Rotten Friend". But still, I have a lot of friends.

One of my good friends, Fiona, doesn't like blogs. Can't say as I blame her. Really. It's incredibly addictive to check someone's blog on a daily basis (it's like looking at a terrible car accident as you drive by - sometimes you just can't help it), and that in itself is a terrible time waster. So... as an addict to one who is NOT addicted... I don't know what to say.

Back to Fiona though. I think the world of Fiona. She is incredibly talented (I wish I had HER little finger...) and amazingly smart, and fiercely loyal. And you don't mess with Fiona. Not even a little. The smaller they are... the more spunk they have. Fiona has spunk. Perhaps that's why I like her. She's a small package with a big punch. And we've been through a lot together.

Fiona was my neighbor from the first time I really got my own true pay rent and live in a bunch of houses that are all connected by one door and a whole bunch of people apartment. We were both doing laundry, and she thought that my laundry looked suspiciously like her laundry since we both wear the same brands... And then the friendship deepened.

I was chauffeur to her and her husband taking them to the airport the night before my oldest daughter was born. I've seen her slide down the side of a mountain - not because she wanted to, but because it was the "easy" way down (I'm sure she would insist that it was NOT the easy way down...). I was there when she graduated from College... the first time. And she has been there for me. More times than I can count.

Fiona and Chad (her husband) were there during some of the darkest moments of my life. The were literally directly across the hall when I needed someone to talk to or to make sure that I was eating or to take care of a child when I desperately needed it. They let themselves in to my apartment just to keep me company. I did NOT find this to be an intrusion, only the greatest show of friendship and love that I could find at that time in my life. Chad even helped me to put up an obnoxiously large Christmas Tree... and he would check in on me as he was leaving for work to make sure that I had eaten that day (no, I did NOT have an eating disorder - just a lot of loneliness and stress and other emotions that sometimes get in the way of a good meal...) In fact, Chad and Fiona flew home from a cruise because I needed a friend and someone to offer me support. It was and is their friendship that has helped me through some really tough times.


Fiona is remarkable. She finds time during her busy life to make a quilt for each of my children (and they all love them...). She works and raises two small children of her own. Yet - through all of this, she still finds time for other people.

I want to be more like Fiona.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

How about the stinky sock jam that you made?

I am going to print this article out and put it in my kids' scrapbook. So one of these (teenage) years, when my kids think their mom never does anything good or right, they will read this article and know that someone somewhere always thinks I am one of the bests that ever in her life.

Correction: you were there for both my BA and Masters graduations. Of course, it wasn't all about me during my BA but my Masters was all me because Chad was in Japan on TDY.

Now, there are only 2 blogs I read. Yours are one of them. If everyone's blog is like yours and the other one I read, I wouldn't be so against blogging.

In fact, I was talking to Alexa's babysitter about you when I dropped Kevin off during my lunch break. When I went back to my office, I got your email about this article. When I read the article for the first time, I thought it was nice and sweat. When I really "read" it for the second time, it bought tears in my eyes. I am glad I was able to be there when you needed me. I always wished that I could do more for you and I truly admire your bravery and courage.

I know we are not separated by distance and we are always close to each other in spirit. It sounds a little cheesy but I really believe that.