For a cranky opinionated bitch, I have been unbelievably fortunate when it comes to dear life long friends. I have my Susin and Yanni and a small handful of others that I am always (surprised by) and grateful for.

2 days ago I received an early gift- a return letter from an old friend that I had lost touch with for a while. I sent the card not thinking that it would find her, but hoping it would. Our history has been filled with yawning gaps where we’ve lost touch, but when we reconnect, it’s as though no time has passed. I met Calinda when I was young- grade 3 I think. (the “I think” is due to the transient random moving around in my childhood, not age!) I spent a lot of time at her house growing up and my mom would often leave me in their care if she had to leave town or we had no groceries. Her mom fed me and as a talented seamstress, she would always make outfits for me when she made something for Cali, which to a poor kid was like winning the lottery or having a guardian angel.

Cali is an artist and I have 2 of her amazing paintings in my house- possessions that I have always cherished. She is also a mother and a kind soul and much to my delight, a wife-to-be. We can also both boast that we know the words to almost every ABBA song out there as we spent countless hours belting out the lyrics in front of her fathers stereo.

I recognized the hand writing as soon as I pulled it out of the mailbox and despite the 7 billion degrees below zero temperatures I had my gloves off and envelope torn open well before I reached the warmth of the front door. A flurry of emails have followed and the grand catch up has begun.

Merry Christmas to me.

Ps- Cali- where the hell is that pic of us as kids with the matching purple skirts & pink tops that your mom made????? I looked EVERYWHERE to post it here!!!!