She's 'That Friend'

My friend Barbara and I usually get together once or twice a week, we'll meet in town for coffee, or breakfast, or lunch, or we'll visit together at one of our homes, but with this horrid Winter we've been having, most of our visits have been either over the phone or through emails.
The other day she called me though and said she was going to have her husband drive her over so we could have a little visit together. I was happy to have her company, which would have been more than enough, but she also came bearing gifts for me! And she gave me so much! She thought of everything!

She came bearing the practical...

(Look at this cute cell phone case! Barbara thought it would be good for when I go bike riding, I can clip it to a belt loop and wear it hands-free, and it also comes with a longer strap so I can wear it across my shoulder if I want.)


(And it also has a little wallet attached!)


and she came bearing the useful...

(Barbara knows that I like to carry big purses, especially when I have the grandkids in tow, lots to take along! And she knows that I like bags with lots of pockets, and when I can't have bags with pockets, I like to take 'inserts' along, fill them up with all the neccessities, and throw them into whatever bag I happen to be using that day. So I was very happy to get these beauties!)


(Look at all the pockets in these! A place for pens and paper, cell phone, credit cards, everything!)


(Both the bigger one and the smaller one had pockets for everything, they even had a clip for keys and a spot for glasses. And then it's so easy to change out purses, all your essentials are in one spot!)
(These are also great for packing travel essentials for long trips!)

...and she came bearing the pretty...

(This bag is so sweet!)


(So feminine!)


(I love every detail!)



...and she came bearing the decorative...


(Isn't this adorable?! Barbara said her husband Dave picked it out for me, he said to her, "Eileen likes all this old looking stuff, right?" I love it!)


(I'm in search now of the perfect spot in my home for it!)

...and she came bearing the ornamental!

(I love these 'rope bracelets'! They are perfect for me as I have a nickle allergy, so there is a lot of jewelry that I can't wear.)


(The glass beads are beautiful, and I love the clasp too, I flipped when I opened these! So pretty!)



Right now they are adorning my statue of the the Madonna and Child...


...but as soon as the weather clears and I can once again venture out, they will be adorning my wrists!

I don't know what I did to deserve all this! Thank you, Barbara!
Here is a picture of Barbara and myself taken many years ago. We were at some function for the Rosary Society, and I promise you I wasn't the only fool dressed in costume, I was just the only one caught on camera. I can't remember what the skit was about, I only remember that we had lots and lots of fun, as we usually do when we are together.


I wish I had thought to take out my camera when Barbara was here so you could 'meet' her in a more normal setting. But suffice it to say, Barbara has a very generous heart, and she is so much fun, and she is so easy to talk to! I felt comfortable with Barbara from the moment I met her. My youngest son and her youngest son were in Kindergarten together, and we were both on 'security duty' at school, she was taking classes at the time and had brought some homework to do, but I talked so much she had to give up on her homework and close her books! The next month we happened to be together again, this time she had a newspaper to read, but she didn't get much reading done as I was 'jabberjaws' again, and the next month she wised up and only brought along a cup of coffee! And she made sure we had security duty together from then on by requesting me for a partner. And as luck would have it, a few years later we were both offered jobs in that school, and so we worked together for awhile too.

It doesn't matter if we are spending whole days together or having a quick phone conversation, in no time at all our conversations can run the gamut from birth to death and everything in between! We cry until our eyes are swollen, and we laugh until our sides split. Over the last twenty years we have laughed, cried, and prayed together. We have turned to each other for support in times of crisis, and we've rejoiced with each other in times of joy. We've supported each other through the sicknesses and deaths of our parents. She's been my confidant and my cheerleader. Our relationship is very relaxed, we are just as comfortable with each other talking a mile a minute as we are sitting in complete silence. We have been on trips together, we've gone on shopping sprees, we've seen Broadway shows, we've eaten so many breakfast, lunch, and dinners together, and we have had countless cups of coffee together. And we both agree that our best times spent together were when we went to Mass in the mornings after dropping the boys at school, and then we'd walk home and stop at the corner where we went our separate ways, but we'd linger awhile talking.

It's funny because as much as we agree on so many subjects, we also are very different. We have differing views on politics. Barbara and her husband are more apt to travel where Ray & I are 'homebodies' in comparison. Barbara is always so organized, and I am in a state of disorder all the time! And Barbara is always, always, so 'put together' and I am always so disheveled! If we are out shopping, she will take my packages and consolidate and organize them for me. If it is cold out, she will 'bundle' me up, and affix my scarf for me.

Barbara is like all things comfortable and familiar to me, she is my bowl of soup, my scrapbook, my corner grocery store. She's that friend.