When I was in college in the 70's, I also worked at a movie theater.
I was the Day Cashier. Impressive, no? I would work my little day shift because my classes were at night. The Night Cashier did just the opposite. She came in as I was ready to leave for the day. We usually overlapped about half an hour.
Each day, we would talk for that brief period of time. She would share her day as I counted up the receipts from the afternoon matinees. At which point she would take over her Night Cashier duties.
I would look forward to our afternoons in the Cashier's Booth, sharing our days and lives. And our friendship grew.
That was over 35 years ago.
Here's my friend, Pam and me, circa 1977:
Since then, we have shared much, much life. As Pam likes to say, "I've known you longer than I haven't."
Here we are at Disneyland. Our favorite place to meet.
To this day we are constantly sharing. Not just the big stuff, like births and deaths, but the little things, like what we're having for dinner or what color nail polish we're wearing, or a TV show she thinks I might enjoy. (Thanks for turning me on to PSYCH!)
We text pretty much every day. We send each other little this-reminded-me-of-you surprises in the mail. Sometimes we just send cards.
Just this last week, she sent me a postcard from her city town(?) of Hanford (which I always mock as not being a real place, but that's not important right now).
When I was at Blissdom in Nashville a few weeks ago, the kind folks at Hallmark sponsored a booth where you could send cards to anyone you wanted to on their dime. Is there anyone, they asked, that is special to you? If so, tell them.
My first thought was my BFF, Pam. She is currently struggling with MS and I thought a card would cheer her.
I know she knows I love and appreciate her. But I think it's important to say it often.
Then they asked, "Would you like to make a video, too?" (You can guess how I responded to that question.)
The generous folks at Hallmark have offered to partner with MBFCF to offer the following giveaway:
A ten pack of beautiful Hallmark Greeting Cards!
I love the idea of having a greeting card ready to send when the mood strikes. (I can feel myself racking up "cool" points already.)
1) To enter this drawing, please leave a comment on this post and answer the following question:
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โข Who is special to you and what would you tell them?
To enter this drawing, please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Friday, March 23rd, 2011 at 8 PST.
I know you all have someone who is special to you. Please, don't wait. Tell them.
I have a couple of BFFs, but this would most certainly be for my Mom. I am a lot like my Dad was, so naturally my Mom and I have butted heads countless times over the years. Since we lost my Dad in December 2010, I’ve had a lot of time to think about (and fear) losing my Mom.She will disagree with me. She will criticize me (I think it’s somewhere in the mom contract she signed). She will tell me I am too fat. She will tell me to stand up straight. She will tell me not to drink too much. She will argue with me about anything. Maybe that’s because I remind her so much of my Dad that she feels she needs to argue with me just because it’s what she’s supposed to do. Maybe it’s her extremely strict upbringing at a nun school (escuela de monjas) in Spain. Maybe it’s just the way she’s wired. Whatever the case, I would tell her this – THANK YOU, MOM. Thank you for being there for me even when I screwed up. Thank you for loving my daughter so much and always being the best Abuela to her. Thank you for coming through for me, even when it is against how you really feel.
I owe her a lot. And she should know it…
My BFF, Jill is super duper special to me. No matter how many miles separate us (1300 miles) she is always there to lend an ear when I need to vent and vice versa. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. My message to her is “The world is a better place because you are in it!”
My BFF Tanya. We’ve known eachother since JK, just over 30 years! We normally tell people that we have known eachother since before birth since her mother was initially supposed to marry my uncle…and then married another man (Tanya’s dad). I would tell her that she’s an amazing woman, mother, wife but most of all an amazing friend. We’ve had our ups and downs but we both known that we would each drop everything for the other. She’s my sista from another mista ๐
What a wonderful surprise! It’s true Marta (who I call Marti) has been my BFF for well over 35 years! I have been so blessed to call you my BFF. The invention of the internet has so changed the world, but for me it has been a part of my everyday life. In an instant we can be in touch with each other no matter where we are in the world. How amazing is that? And same for the ability to text in just an instant too! So, because of this amazing fact I contact with Marti many times a day! It is rare we don’t text. Maybe if she is at sea! (I rarely go anywhere!) We have so many stories I could share…some I can not! ๐ But I’d like to share a couple.A couple of years ago my husband Gene and I went to Disneyland. I purposely did not tell Marti, because I really was hoping to get a text from her that said she was going to visit the mouse! Now, this would be hard even now because of apps called “find my friends”. But that is a whole different post! So there we were sitting at the River Belle Terrace and the text I so wanted came…”I’m going to see the mouse”. HA! I had her. I asked her to tell me what she was doing so I could “live through her”! Then I proceeded to bug her with so many texts like “where are you now?” I’m sure she got annoyed with me…I sure would have. But finally she texted “getting off the Jungle Cruise! We were only feet away! So…I crept up on her and stood right behind her completely invading her space. She looks around at me with the look “can I help you?” and it registered who the wierdo was! It was so fun! I think it could have been when that one picture was taken. Anyway, it was a moment that still makes me smile from ear to ear when I think of it.
One more time she texted me about her going to Disneyland. I happened to know that a couple from our church was at Disneyland that very moment. I texted her and said…Hey look for this couple *insert picture here*. They will be toting one of our scavenger hunts and should be easy to see. So she told me when they arrived in the park and I had the couple, Nick and Liz telling me where they were. When Marti saw them I said “go up to them and say “excuse me…are you from Hanford?” I couldn’t believe it…she did it! It was quite a fun moment to be part of even though I wasn’t really there! Next thing I knew I got a picture from both Nick and her of all of them together!
Marti you’ve always been so fun and encouraging to me! I am truly blessed to have you as a BFF. Thank you for such a sweet and touching post. If we lived closer (I live 5 hours away) we could have coffee and encourage one another! I love you MORE!
We are about to move away to a new state and I have so many friends who have helped me in my walk as a wife, mother,and Christian. I will send them notes before we go, but it would be cool to win the Hallmark cards!
My 3 sisters are my BFF’s. I would tell them how much I love and cherish them. Always together from cradle to grave!
I recently spent the weekend with my college BFF and her family. My college BFF is always there to listen to stories about my crazy life and give me advice. She listens to me even when I repeat myself 2500 times. What is even better is that her family accepts me as if I am their own. And I’m not just talking about her immediate family. Her grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles treat me as if I am part of the family. I’m very blessed to know them!
Oh si, por fa, mil thank yous!For my wonderful grandmother, La Tata. http://bohemianbabushka.blogspot.com/2011/09/la-tata.html
This year she will be 90 years old and though we talk daily on the phone I’d love to send her something she can hold that will remind her how much I love and miss her. Wonderful idea- 1000x gracias.
BB2U
I’ve been fortunate to be blessed with really great girlfriends, women I’ve known for over 30 years, friends I still keep in touch with since kindergarten… but in this instance, I would have to recognize my Mami. My mom has been with me even longer… my whole life… and without her, I wouldn’t be a fraction of what I am today. Her support for me has never faltered, she’s taught me, by example. how to be a good mother, wife, and keeper of the home. She’s taught me the value of good work or pride and of never giving up. I speak to her daily, if we miss eachother, I try until I reach her. I’m extremely grateful for her in my life.