A rather shocking surprise

Friday afternoon I was in my bungalow trying to muster the conviction to change from my sweat pants to my adult clothes and feeling rather like this:



when I heard a knock at the door. Curious, I opened it and found my college roommate, Rachel, standing on the other side.

SURPRISE!

Rachel lived down the hall from me my freshman year of college. We quickly became fast friends and ended up living together for the rest of college and the first bit of graduate school. Those were lovely years full of fun experiences:

We hiked.

We carved pumpkins.  

We went on walks. 

We took each other to the airport.

We dressed up.

Newsies!

We laughed a lot.

Here are some things you should know about Rach: she is kind, encouraging, thoughtful, talented, and gracious. When I was 19 I looked at her and said, "I want to be like her when I grow up." I've been saying it ever since.

Several years ago Rach moved back to her hometown in northern California, and making regular memories became pretty tricky. Our together time became a rare and special treat. So it was wonderful and rather shocking to find her on my front step on Friday. Unfortunately, I was on my way to tutor for the afternoon and she was on her way to San Diego for the weekend, so we made plans to meet up on Sunday.

Sunday morning Rach and her travel buddy and roommate, C, came over for breakfast. It was a cozy affair, but the best part was after breakfast when Rach and I sat at the piano and crooned some tunes. Well, she crooned; I warbled.

Also, I had a head full of curlers. It's a good friend who doesn't bat an eyelash when you serve them breakfast in your spandex, slippers, and a head full of curlers.

When Rach and I lived together, one of my favorite things was lying on the floor next to the piano while she played and sung. If the voices of India Arie and Lauren Hill could somehow procreate, their progeny would be Rachel's voice. She's amazing.

Sometimes, I'd get up off the floor, scootch onto the bench next to her, and we'd make music together, alternating who played the piano and who sang harmony. We still love to sing together, and whenever see each other, we pass the hours playing and singing. Those are golden moments.



Isn't life lovely? You just never know when you'll open your door and find a surprise just waiting to make adult-ing less like a burden and more like a gift packed full of joyous memories.

Rach and I with her friend, C

Rach, thanks for coming. You were the cherry on top of my weekend. Heck, you were the ice cream, the whipped cream, and the sprinkles, too. Your friendship makes life sweeter and I sure love you.

And hey, the rest of you, you sure do add richness to my life. I hope you're well. I'm praying for you. Do shoot me an email to tell me how I can pray.

Much love,

SJ




© by scj