Project 365: Day 69 - Sat. July 25th, 2009

Friends and Rainbows:

The morning started with a phone call to Rick from Verizon. 45 minutes later I had a new friend. he helped me figure out how to get $220 off my now $600 bill and saved me money every month by helping me analyze my calling plan.

Then I jumped out of bed - and the acute pain in my head reminded me that wine is not my friend. But off I went to meet my friend Courtney for breakfast and my favorite diner in Reisterstown. We just had dinner on Thursday but there is nothing better than sharing a meal and some great conversation with my CoCo.

Well that encounter led to the next friendly encounter. A former student of hers -Patrick Williams - showed up to say hello. I laugh now because Courtney is a little behind the technology times but this is testimony to its power. Because she has embraced text messaging, she was able to land herself a Patrick sighting. (I never taught Patrick but this was back in Randallstown's open space days and Courtney's class was right next to mine. The flimsy wall between didn't keep her English lessons from mixing with my Spanish lessons.)

I, of course, wanted to catch the reunion on camera and because of my new habit of always having "Click!" with me, I was able to snap these emotionally charged moments. There he was - Patrick (aka P-Dog) with BIG muscles, tatoos but same adorable smile. We stood in the parking lot and heard all about his new business adventure called the Traveling Gourmet. I told him to remember the little people when he makes it to the food network. Soon the reunion had to end as the ex drove up with the girls. We said our goodbyes and I left to go get Cody from Edwin. Since "friend" was the word of the day, I left a friendly note on my new friend Stuart's door, (see funny story in blog Day 68) and then headed off for playdate #2 with Lisa and the kids.

The weather was perfect for a day at the pool and the sun helped dry up the wine still sloshing around in my head. The kids played hard and made up some fun new game called "Don't Fall Off!" I asked Lisa about her childhood games and friends and we sat hand in hand with the nostalgia of our own childhoods as we watched our children play. "They will be friends forever you know." Lisa was right. Cody and Brady have been friends since pre-school and will continue to be friends for life - just like their mothers. I envisioned Cody and Brady in tuxedos in each other's weddings toasting to their life-long friendship. I envisioned Lisa and I crying over the thought of our two little boys playing pirates in the basement.

I was reminded to thank God that day for my friend Lisa. He sent her to me you know; she was absolutely an answered prayer. My 3 closest friends had all moved away. Courtney was in PA - Cristina was in FL - and the void from Cindy's move to Utah and out of my life entirely had left me well - lonely. I asked God to send me a friend and He sent me Lisa. Little did we know that a playdate would turn into a friendship that would see us both through some very dark times--dark times that stood in stark contrast to this light, bright Saturday afternoon.

We left the pool to go to our favorite restaurant - Noodles & Co. and it was there that Lisa ran into an old friend. The theme of the day had not yet tired from making its rounds. We enjoyed our meals, stopped for ice-cream and then said our good-byes. On the way home the weather was mixing up something interesting. And then Cody saw it - our second rainbow in two 24 hour periods. We stopped and took pictures and talked about how rainbows are like friendship: the good ones mix life's storms with life's sunny days to make something beautiful for the world to see.