I hope so much that you have a friend. And I mean a BFF, ya know?

For me, that means Christie. We have had us some times.

We have stayed friends through our marriage failures, our desperately alone days, our single-days, our disaster frog-kissing days and our weddings and now we're in a new phase altogether. We have stayed friends even when our sons, whose friendship originally brought us together, drifted apart.

I tell this to anyone who will listen: Christie is officially the most competent woman I know. If she could play the piano and sing, we would make her, like, "Queen of Everything" or something. She can do almost anything. I could list it all here, but sufficie it to say...if it needs fixin, or made up real pretty-like, she's your woman!

Although we didn't meet until our kids were in elementary school..she's the kind of girlfriend that I wish I'd had as a child. Really. We have code words, we adore each other's husbands, and we have sworn our undying love for each other. It's a little pathetic, reading that back. Still, we do have traditions that have stood the test of time. Most notably, we have coffee every Saturday morning. We go to the local coffee shop, chat about our week, catch up on the news and then run whatever errands we need to. There is so much comfort in this small custom that I almost cannot express it. Neither of us can remember how long this has been going on, but we both know it's been a long time.

At least two lifetimes ago, for sure.

It's comforting to know that someone in the world is truly happy for you when something great happens..or something just kinda a little better than average. But even better to know that someone shares your anguish when things are falling apart or you just need someone to shoot up a pray for you that day. Christie is that woman for me.

We have gotten into our share of mischief...we have a thing against gnomes and really worry about people who put those in their yards. I'll tell you about those antics someday.

We have completely different tastes in just about everything. We can shop together though, because we have the same shopping style which can be summed up in one word: RAPID. My daughter once said that the mall much be a mere blur to us as she was running along behind us on one of us shopping expeditions.

The very notable exception to this is purses. The very word gives me the shivers and I'll cover that in a later post if someone reminds me. Few can understand my trepidation, except maybe her Mom and Kevin.

If I called Christie RIGHT NOW and asked her to meet me TONIGHT and WEAR BLACK and DON'T TELL ANYONE.....I swear to you she would ask if we need to wear masks and bring a shovel. Because that's just the kind of friend she is.