Friday, June 27, 2008

Old but not "old" Friends


Yesterday I had lunch with my best friend from high school, Debbie. We were in one another's weddings. It was the sweetest time. We talked and laughed and cried a little and it was good medicine for my heart. She listens well and speaks freely from her heart. I have missed my girlfriends while I have been here and it was good to find her here. She is quick and smart and wise and strong and wonderful. As we talked I realized how being her friend made me a better person- in retrospect she was probably the first accountability friendship I had, because I knew if I stepped out of line she'd call me on it and love me through it.

Other than that... it was a day of phone calls and details and writing what I will say at my dads service (ugh) which Debbie has agreed to read if I come undone. I of course want to get through it and say what I've written so that it's clear, so my Mom is good with it, but I have to admit I also don't want to stand in front of people I haven't seen in a hundred years and have snot running down my nose...

one more thing... it's like being at a perpetual church potluck. We keep eating and loving other people's food, even though I don't feel hungry. Two nights of Mexican in a row, for the record :-).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Janet -
Being Real "takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." - From The Velveteen Rabbit.
Thanks for letting me be "Real"
The anonymous blogger :)
PS - I'll bring you a kleenex. Don't worry about the runny nose. It's not a production - Don't critique yourself. Just be "Real" for your dad!

Melinda said...

You will be prayed for through your dad's services.
Debbie sounds like a wonderful friend and supporter. Thanks for introducing her!