This One's For You, Ruth

I have always been the kind of person to have a smattering of really good friends, instead of a lot of just so so friends. I feel lucky to be this way. The friends I do have are "seasoned". Many of us have been through oceans, deserts, springs, and fields of plenty. We have lived life together. Over time.

One such friend is one that I don't get to see too often anymore, even though she lives just over a mile from my house. She teaches in the same corporation, and I pass her school every day when I drive to my own.

This friend nurtured me as a beginning teacher. She saw something in me and took time to answer my millions of questions, encourage me, support me, and give me the confidence I needed.

In the 6 years I have known her, she has carved time out in her busy life for me. We have created blogs, written resumes, talked about books, lounged by the pool, shopped for shoes, and shared many a laugh or good story.

This lady, she works hard. She has a BIG job. She is also an amazing mother. (You should meet her kids!) She is a patient and caring wife. She sees the needs of others and takes them on as her priority.

Considering her busy life, I feel special to get to call her my "friend". For me, those aren't flippant words. I can trust that she will tell me like it is. She won't tell the world about my embarrassing stories. She is caring. She is safe. She is friend.

Life gets in the way and time spent together is far and few between. Nevertheless, next time we chat or text or spend time, I can be assured we will fall back into step.

Friend.