A Lesson In Friendship

This is me and a friend of mine. Let's call her K.

No, let's just call her Kendra. Because that's her name.

I haven't ask her permission or anything to post her picture or talk about her, but I'm counting on her not hating me for it, or at the very least not initiating any kind of legal action.

K and I have known each other since the 4th grade. Since we were 10-ish. It's been a long, long time since we were 10-ish, so let's just say we've been buds more than a few years.

And I'd like to take this time to ask K a question. "K, why the heck don't we have any more recent photos of just the two of us?"

This picture was taken two years ago at our High School Reunion and it's the only one I could find that didn't highlight one of us putting food into our mouths or talking.

Hmm.

Anyway, as things happen, after High School we lost touch for many years and it's only through the wonders of Facebook and High School Reunion Planning that we were reunited.

It's like we were never separated. If we were in a class together today, the teacher would go to great lengths to make an assigned seating chart that placed K and I on opposite sides of the classroom.

It's true.



K is inquisitive and witty and funny.

And a good, good friend.

Not very long ago in an e-mail I told her that I was feeling down and rather "blue", you know, out of sorts, and just generally not-at-all-'me-like'.

And do you know what she did?

Instead of replying that well that's too bad Lu, or I'm so sorry that's just the pits, Lu, or Gosh Lu I'll pray for you (although she would and I'm sure she did),


No, my sweet friend replied with a list. A list of suggestions of things that I could do to pull myself up out of the dumps so to speak.

Things like:

1. Sign you and The Chief up for a dance class.
2. Design and build a fish pond.
3. Ask Weegie to write a blog post.
4. Bake something for someone.


It was a long list. I can't recall all her suggestions and I have since, of course, deleted the message.

If something is important or sentimental or meaningful, something I really want to keep forever, or if it's legally or financially significant, like something we need  to complete our taxes?

Quite obviously I CANNOT DELETE IT FAST ENOUGH.

But if it's information on the sale items at Chico's from August of 2010? I've got it. The link to a cat video someone sent me in 2008? Right there in my inbox. The directions to a meeting I forgot to attend at Texas A&M in January of this last year? I'm your girl...

I just so hate that I somehow went all crazy with the delete button and her reply is gone.

But still.

K took the time to think about things that she knows I like, things that would likely interest me. Practical, easy ideas that not only made me smile, but let me know that she had really put some thought into her response.

I can't tell you how much it meant.

And although I've only actually done maybe one or two of the things she listed, just thinking about them made me realize how very much control I had over my own feelings at that time and that by golly, I had some choices.

Do you need to be a friend like K today?

Trust me. It might make all the difference in the world to someone who needs a lift.

I love you K!


Lu