My dear friend Ann turns fifty today. Ann is fifty....Ann is fifty?
No....no matter how often I write it, or how many more years go by, Ann will never be fifty..or fifty-five...or sixty. Ann is and always has been ageless...her spirit is simultaneously young and old...fun-loving, adventurous, spontaneous, mischievous, passionate...marbled with wisdom, peacefulness, charm, practicality, and common sense.
We became friends through our boyfriends when we were around sixteen. The boyfriends eventually went by the wayside, while we became closer, despite the fact that our lifestyles have pretty much always been on different tracks...as far as married/single, kids/no kids, little kids/older kids, working/staying-at-home goes, anyway. We rarely see each other and we'll go months without talking (although now that our kids are older we're working on that.)
But Ann is more than a friend - she's a part of me. There are no pretenses between us. We can be ourselves with each other and not have to worry about being judged. We share good laughs over our screw-ups and problems and memories. We've shared so much over the years, know so much about each other, that I no longer worry about us drifting apart or losing our friendship....although I'd never take it for granted. One of the beautiful things about her is that I'm not the only one who feels that way...she has many friends who feel just as close to her as I do.
I am grateful to her for her amazing strength - she's had challenge after challenge in her life that would have broken most women, but she somehow turns those challenges into trampolenes, using them to bounce into something bigger and better. She's realized one of her dreams already - owning an antique shop/tea room in her little town of Weston, Missouri, and she's currently working on a book of her assemblage art to be published by North Light. She reminds me of those purple flowers growing in the bend of our road - despite all the trials in her life, she continues to bloom and brighten and inspire lives all around her.
Her creativity and energy amaze me. It's because of her that I'm even writing this blog - I enjoyed hers so much (isla) that I wanted to try. She encouraged me and answered my questions. Her photography reawakened my love for capturing the images around me, and she was just as supportive and helpful with that.
Artwork is another thing - years ago she tried to teach me how to sew and make some of the craft projects she's so good at, but we both gave up on that...
Now she's writing, and her creativity and natural sense of beauty are obvious in her words. I'm trying to be just as helpful to her as she has been to me. It's nice to be able to give back in some way.
So here's to Ann...may your day and all the days to come be glorious, and I hope they include more chances for us to spend time with each other. I miss you, love you, and I'm so glad you're my friend.
Here are some blasts from the past....Carey (whatever happened to her?), me, and Ann at South Padre Island, 4th of July 1977 (look at those tans...and the terrible quality of 70's photography)...
...Ann and I climbing Mt. Timpanogos in Utah a few months later...
...and at our 30th high school reunion pre-party last year...
I can't wait for the next 34 years of friendship with you, Ann...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
