Thursday, December 18, 2003
My best friend is moving away. As I sit here looking out the window the moving truck has just pulled up.
Being in the military has it's ups and downs, but I truly believe this is worse than my huband going away to war. I always believe with all my heart that he'll return safe and sound, but when a friend moves away I know I'll never see them again. This is the first time I've let myself make friends with a neighbor in more than 15 years. Isn't that sad? But I've been that way to protect myself.
Stephanie wouldn't let me NOT be her friend. She knocked on my door 2 years, 2 months and 22 days ago and introduced herself. She lives across the street from me but we don't see each other everyday. When the two of us do get together we laugh until we're sick ~ about everything! Politics, religion (she's Jehovah's Witness, I'm Southern Baptist), sex, children (her son is a momma's boy, mine's a wild child) she was born in India and adopted by a black family living in Virginia, I'm white and raised in Louisiana by very southern parents. We talk about EVERYTHING and it's so great to know that we can and the other won't be offended by ignorance or the need to understand.
We have had some great times together ~ usually over very fattening food.
We've had some awful times together ~ and recouperated over very fattening food.
She was there for me everyday while Mark was in Iraq. She went with me when I had to put my Teufel to sleep. She's the one who took me to the emergency room when I was sick.
She has leukemia. Has had it for 20 years and has just dealt with it. She put herself through law school while dealing with this and being a single parent. She's 10 years younger than me and she's my hero.
This year has been horrible for her.
On the day I put my Teufel to sleep I pulled into her driveway and out she hobbles on crutches! The day before a "little old lady" ran her down in the WalMart parking lot and broke her leg! She never said a word, but she was there for me and held me while I cried at the vets.
Starting this past August she had 3 surgeries 3 months apart to remove tumors. They thought there were 3, but found 8 and could only get to 6. She also has a tumor in her brain. Since she's Jehovah's Witness and didn't have blood transfusions during surgery, this made it very hard on her, but she was a trooper.
She's a very well endowed black woman whom I've nicknamed Countess Cleavage because she's always worried her boobs are too big. She calls me Princess Dianne because I whined to her about sweating when I mowed the yard (ick).
I love her.
She's scared to death that she won't wake up one morning and said I'm the only one she's ever told that to.
I'm scared to death that I'll never see her again and I have never told anyone this.
Being in the military has it's ups and downs, but I truly believe this is worse than my huband going away to war. I always believe with all my heart that he'll return safe and sound, but when a friend moves away I know I'll never see them again. This is the first time I've let myself make friends with a neighbor in more than 15 years. Isn't that sad? But I've been that way to protect myself.
Stephanie wouldn't let me NOT be her friend. She knocked on my door 2 years, 2 months and 22 days ago and introduced herself. She lives across the street from me but we don't see each other everyday. When the two of us do get together we laugh until we're sick ~ about everything! Politics, religion (she's Jehovah's Witness, I'm Southern Baptist), sex, children (her son is a momma's boy, mine's a wild child) she was born in India and adopted by a black family living in Virginia, I'm white and raised in Louisiana by very southern parents. We talk about EVERYTHING and it's so great to know that we can and the other won't be offended by ignorance or the need to understand.
We have had some great times together ~ usually over very fattening food.
We've had some awful times together ~ and recouperated over very fattening food.
She was there for me everyday while Mark was in Iraq. She went with me when I had to put my Teufel to sleep. She's the one who took me to the emergency room when I was sick.
She has leukemia. Has had it for 20 years and has just dealt with it. She put herself through law school while dealing with this and being a single parent. She's 10 years younger than me and she's my hero.
This year has been horrible for her.
On the day I put my Teufel to sleep I pulled into her driveway and out she hobbles on crutches! The day before a "little old lady" ran her down in the WalMart parking lot and broke her leg! She never said a word, but she was there for me and held me while I cried at the vets.
Starting this past August she had 3 surgeries 3 months apart to remove tumors. They thought there were 3, but found 8 and could only get to 6. She also has a tumor in her brain. Since she's Jehovah's Witness and didn't have blood transfusions during surgery, this made it very hard on her, but she was a trooper.
She's a very well endowed black woman whom I've nicknamed Countess Cleavage because she's always worried her boobs are too big. She calls me Princess Dianne because I whined to her about sweating when I mowed the yard (ick).
I love her.
She's scared to death that she won't wake up one morning and said I'm the only one she's ever told that to.
I'm scared to death that I'll never see her again and I have never told anyone this.