Friendship for 45 years! How do you capture the depth of a friendship that has sustained itself through so many geographical and life stage changes? As I was thinking through how I would articulate what your friendship has meant to me, the words, DEFINING MOMENTS, continued to ring in my mind.

I met you in elementary school and I was thankful that you made room for me in your “Odalys – Linda” twosome and we easily became the Three Musketeers. We each played a role in our friendship. I was the realist/inquisitor (and yes I hear you saying, “why all the questions, Veneeta?), Odalys was the care-taker and you were the one that brightened the mood and provided a lightened perspective.

Growing up together, we were privileged to share so many DEFINING MOMENTS:

• Sharing what that first kiss was like;
• Having Mr. Martin refer to our hickeys in not so flattering terms and graciously offering to serve bananas to our “boyfriends” J;
• The good and bad of our first loves;
• Getting and driving our first cars (OMG – the Pinto!);
• Leaving childhood friendships to start college and then finding a space and a place of importance for the childhood friendship to persist through adulthood;
• Having real relationships as we gracefully moved into “adulting” and through that, knowing that the happy endings portrayed in the movies is SO NOT how it really works;
• Having children and realizing that a first love - truly, unconditionally – doesn’t happen until your child is born.

Through all of these and so many more, you were there…through good and bad; thick and thin and never with judgement. It is rare to have authentic people that love you, speak truth and not judge when your humanness makes you behave in a “less than” way.

I won’t be able to be there for your home-going service as I am not cleared to travel due to recent eye surgery, but know that I believe that God always has a perfect plan. I don’t understand His wisdom in giving you your wings so soon, but I know God has weaved His perfect plan through even this. I am thankful that He brought and kept us together to support and love each other. While your body is no longer with us, your spirit will live on through all of the people that you have so wonderfully touched. I will shed my tears as I mourn, but I will forever be filled with joy and gratitude for the opportunity to have grown, lived and loved with you.