Friendship: July 2007 Archives

I want to tell you how meeting Mary was as natural as greeting an old friend that hasn't been seen in a number of years. We fell into comfortable conversation and laughter. She charmed my children and she brought them gifts. She settled into my kitchen just like back door friends should. Several times as she talked with my girls or played with Steven I could imagine how nice it would be to have her living close by. She could just walk over in afternoons and have a cup of tea/coffee or a glass of wine, daudling by the pool while we idled away our time waiting for husbands to arrive home from work. Or after a busy day at school I could offer her a(nother) glass of wine and tell her how lucky those children were to have her for a teacher. Yes, I played out an entire scenerio in my head. I also spent a huge amount of time regretting how messy my house was. Steve and I had spent the entire week getting the fields ready for the goats and my house fell to the wayside. I had spent the morning in the goat field. Then I hurried in to the shower and to make lunch. My house was also very messy. I kept telling myself Mary would understand and overlook the mess knowing we were trying to provide for the goats. While I could have bypassed the shower to do a little more cleaning she really would not have appreciated the scent of goat on my person. I was also hoping my cooking would impress her and she wouldn't have time to notice the dust bunnies, handprints on the glass doors and windows, laundry not yet in the washer and the unmopped kitchen floor. I plied her with diet coke, my zucchini lasagne, salad, red and yellow tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella, garlic bread and tapenade. Then I drug her outside to see the goats and my kids with the goats. I drug her through my chicken barn and watched the chicks peck her toes. I want to show her everything and tell her everything and the time passed so swiftly before I knew it she was leaving! The day was too short! (Read her version of the day here.) Mary is everything her writing lends you to believe. She is funny and smart. She is a shining light and her glow engulfs everyone around her. She is lovely and small framed and a tiny bit freckled with lovely auburn tinted hair that shined like brass in the sunshine. She has a wonderful rich voice and laughter. She looks very much like her brother. She is comfortable in her own skin. She is fiendly and outgoing. I can't imagine she has ever met a stranger. Josh is very lucky to have her. I did consider flattening her minivan tires and locking her in the cellar so I could keep her here with me awhile longer. How long could I have gotten away with that before someone noticed she was missing? In the end I let her go with a few jars of homemade jam and a long wave as she drove down out of sight. We have to find the time to get together again. Perhaps she and Josh need a weekend away in the country before school starts back. What do you say, Mary?