I put such value on friendship that I place my friends and our relationships right on the top of my Most Important Things In Life list. I have been blessed with numerous friendships throughout my life and the reasons for the friendships and the levels that each one has reached may vary, but, none-the-less, all are meaningful to me.

Besides being the love of my life, Edie is truly my best friend in life. We could have been and would have been friends, I believe, even if we hadn't been drawn together as partners. She has some ways about her that I will never understand and she says the same thing about me, yet we do enjoy so many of the same things. We often times enjoy things for different reasons, but we enjoy them together and enjoy experiencing them together. As friends, we can laugh and cry together, allow each to have thoughts and activities separate of each other and, somehow, share it all together. So, time spent as friends with Edie can be some of the best, most memorable, most meaningful times of my life. Whether traveling, sharing popcorn at the movies, dining in some restaurant, walking together through town, cheering on a team at a ballgame, washing the car, making a jig-saw puzzle, or watching something together on TV at home, we can and do enjoy each other's company and friendship as much as we know and appreciate our love.

I have another very special friend, too. She is what I like to classify as a real, true friend. Debbie and I met in 1st grade in the old elementary school building in our home town. I was a bus student. She walked to and from school because she lived only a couple of blocks away. Relatives of mine, though, lived in her neighborhood and, on some days, relatives were responsible for my after-school care until my parents got out of work, so I often walked, too. That's how our meeting and gelling as friends got started. We went through the entire twelve years of schooling at the same schools, in the same grades, with some of the same classes and teachers, and many of the same activities, plus we hung out together on many weekends and throughout the summer breaks. Our friendship didn't end after we graduated...actually, it grew. We continued to visit each other, communicate constantly with each other, and to be there for each other through good times and bad. We went to different colleges, I got married while she remained single, then she got married and I got divorced. She's raised a family and I started a new life for myself. All of that and more never took place without the other one being close by. And, now, 48 or so years later, Debbie and I are as close.... hmmm, are even closer...as at anytime during all the years we've known each other.

I only raise all of this up because I had a darn good enjoyable time yesterday. It was Edie's day off from work, which is always nice but her days off have become rather routine and do not always result in anything too special or unique, for I usually tend to my work and she tends to her schoolwork or other things. But, yesterday, Debbie was coming into town that included time that she could spend visiting with us. And, let me tell you, there's nothing better than the most special of friends spending time together!

There were the three of us, talking and laughing, sharing some personal thoughts and news, being silly, drinking coffee, complaining about some things and applauding other things. Our laugh buttons were pushed so hard that it was difficult at times to keep from spewing the coffee, wetting ourselves, or creating such pains in our stomachs from laughing that we would need to call 911! But, we somehow always managed to compose ourselves enough to un-redden our faces, wipe away the tears of laughter, and get our breaths back. Mind you, this sort of thing goes on just about every time the three of us are together because time has helped to bring Debbie and Edie closer as friends, too, so we're really more like silly, sometimes serious, be-ourselves-schoolgirls whenever we're together. And, because we hadn't seen Debbie since way before the holidays, we all had Christmas gifts to exchange yesterday, so it turned into a little bit of a holiday party, too.

Really, nothing could have been nicer or more fun than the couple of hours that Debbie, Edie, and I got to spend together yesterday. I know that I will always be Debbie's friend. I know Edie and I will be together to the end. I know the friendship between all three of us can stay intact beyond our lifetimes. We will be friends forever.