Happy Birthday Louise

That's right, it's Melanie's birthday on Friday. I look forward to it every year because I'm so grateful she was born. I feel like calling her mom up to thank her. Did you know that her mom named her Melanie because she was born with dark hair? She'd picked out "Melissa" for a blonde-haired baby. Heh.

We always give each other lots of birthday presents -- mostly inexpensive, useful things like kitchen gear, lip gloss, and the dress, pair of shoes, bikini, jacket or whatever that the other one wouldn't splurge on for herself. We make a big deal out of wrapping everything, even stupid stuff that doesn't really wrap. And we re-use all the same boxes over and over again. They keep passing back and forth like a cold.

But I read somewhere recently that one of the best things a friend can say to you is, "I will if you will." And I can say that probably nothing would have happened in my life (well, nothing GOOD anyway) in the last seven years if Melanie hadn't said that to me at least ninety six times. That's only once a month. So I bet it's more times than that.

Happy birthday, true-blue friend. Thanks for challenging me to believe in myself against all appreciable odds, to kick my own butt when appropriate, and for never kicking mine even if I deserved it. I can see at least twice as far in the fog with you around, and true north is a little easier to hang onto.