Make It Count Monday

I’m experiencing some frustrations and irritations. (A big shout-out goes to Joann Fabric for selling crappy picture wire. I really loved how the artwork that we just bought came crashing down last night at 12am. There is nothing better than picking up shards of glass at midnight and seeing lovely nicks in the canvas.) But this sort of problem is really very minor. It’s good to have “problems” like these.

And so I’ve decided to implement Make It Count Monday. You’re welcome to join in if you want. Make It Count Monday will be reserved for writing about someone I appreciate – and I’d love to read about people YOU appreciate, too (even if they don’t live in bloggyland). So, without further adieu, my first Make It Count Monday dedication goes out to…….drum roll please…..I SAID DRUM ROLL PLEASE…(that’s better)…

Lindsay!

Lindsay is one of a kind. She’s funny, loyal, hard-working, spirited, sassy, and fearless. Lindsay – or Lou-Lou as some call her! - and I became friends in the sixth grade. Because I have a steel trap for a memory, I even remember the first time I ever talked to her. It was in Ms. Hilgert’s Science class (sorry for the interruption in programming…Daily Flatulence Update…co-worker just farted again) and I told her that her daddy came and sat in my daddy’s lap at an auction at the NG Armory with an “Oh, Fred!” **That’s not my daddy’s real name, but I AM undercover you know.** Anyway, we giggled about it and the rest is history.

Our friendship grew steadily over the next couple of years, with its typical teen girl bumps and bruises (oh, boy, could we be competitive with one another!). By the time we got to high school, we were pretty much inseparable. And looking back, I know that I never would have made it without her. She knew all of my quirks and annoying habits and still liked me anyway. She knew my deepest, darkest secrets (deep and dark being relative for a good girl like me!) and never tried to blackmail me. She even shared my deep and abiding love for Joey-Joe McIntyre and NKOTB, which I secretly think is what bonded us in the first place. We accumulated many catch phrases over the years…
“Look out! Limb!”
“Does Elvis talk to you? Does he tell you to do things? Do you see…spots?”
“No weezing the ju-uice!”
…and how about this one…
“Uh-Uh, Jack, you got to CATCH ME.”
(just to name a few.)

After graduation, we both went to school at the university in our home town. Over that first year, I guess because of growing up and developing separate interests, we started growing apart. It wasn’t long before Lindsay and I weren’t a regular part of each others lives anymore. Isn’t that just what happens in life? Over the next several years, I found new friends…really great friends (one of whom will likely be the object of my next dedication!). Old friends faded away, new ones emerged. But at some point after college, Lindsay and I reconnected and our friendship picked up right where it left off. Here we are...20 years of friendship.

She’s been there with me through pretty much everything, and for that I appreciate her more than she’ll ever know. And I’m fairly certain she knows that if she wants to sit on the couch all day long and watch TV (or maybe a marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – the movie! – Legend, and Flash Gordon), as a fellow couch potato and pop culture junkie, I’ll happily join her.

Lindsay is a true friend….

I wish for you all a true friend like her....one who can remember who you were, see who you are now and know that as different as you may be, you’re still really the same.