good friends are like stars

Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they are always there.  We meet and befriend so many people along our journey through life.  After I married and was blessed with children I lost track of most of my girlfriends from school.  Life 101 kept me so busy I thought I had no time for them.  I was wrong.  I should have made time for them.  I now know they would have made some of my rough roads much smoother.

I now rejoice each time I see any of my old friends.  Today I ran into a dear friend from high school at my granddaughters school.  We were both there having breakfast with our grandchildren.  She looked great despite the snappy black hat she was sporting to hide her bald head.  You see, my friend is another victim of cancer.  However I doubt that anyone would hear her call herself a "victim".  She is and always has been a very strong wonderful woman with a bright smile and the most delectable chuckle.  I love to listen to her laugh.

I've been sitting here reminiscing about our friendship.  As I recall my first class with her was English in middle school.  Our teacher was a strange bird who had a real fear of her students.  Not that I could blame her.  Years before while writing an assignment on the chalk board a student had crept up from behind and stabbed her in the back with a pair of scissors.  She obviously survived but from that time on she pressed her back against the chalk board while conducting class so that no one could catch her off guard again.  My girlfriend had aspirations of being a writer.  I thought that was amazing since I had no idea what I would do at the end of each school day let alone when I got out of school.

Back then my friend was quite lovely with long blond curls and I was quite sure she could do anything she set her mind to do.  So much water under the bridge.  We have been out of high school for over 40 years now.  She and I both had two children and both divorced our first husbands.  She remarried while I took the road less traveled and lived with the next love of my life.  No longer young but always young at heart we relive our youth through play with our grandchildren. 

Thanks for the memories, Sweetie.  I just came across a quote just for you: "Everyone's bald underneath their hair." Susan McHenry  Your curls will soon grow back and we'll sit and reminisce together.  I love you.