My Coffee Partner in Crime.

Flashback to early 2007. I'm climbing the biggest mountain of my life: trying to balance the boys and home life, a possibility of going back to work, getting my son much needed services, dealing with some family issues in NY, and being sick. Having no one local to lean on I wasn't sure what to do, and honestly was a bit sad about it.

Being in a different place and making new friends was tricky. Especially mommy friends. Now I was not only looking for friends that I have things in common with, but that our kids get along. Ugh, great, a new dynamic on an already difficult task. Then the icing on the cake, I have a child that is not typical, and I weed out yet another handful of potential friends as they turn out to be ignorant.

K, so back to my flashback. 2007. Made a few mommy friends, but eh, it was more about the kids than me. I guess that's just how it goes and was ready to make peace with that. But then one day, I was in the basement listening to my older one playing and my younger one screaming as usual, and my phone rang. It was a woman I didn't know, but had gotten my number through the grapevine and was offering her hand and her ear as I started a journey into the unknown world of autism. I was caught off guard and was grateful, but just put it aside for a bit. But when we finally did meet, and our boys met, it was...

Huh. I'm at a loss for a word right there. We clicked. They clicked. Four boys who had never met, gravitating towards each other. Spouses clicked. We clicked. I was never one for friends that were girls growing up, so I wasn't expecting this stranger to be anything more than an aquaintance. But now, over three years later, I have to say she's an amazing friend. She's an amazing mom, an amazing person. I'm so grateful to have her and her family in our life. The boys can go weeks between seeing each other, but when they do, it always puts a smile on my face. They understand each other. They respect each other. It's what true friendship should be.

I had no super purpose for today's post, other than a shout out to my dear friend. A thank you for all to see. I treasure our friendship and I appreciate all she does. And did I mention she loves Starbucks too?? You rock, Claire. Thank you for all the cups of coffee and fun:)

"A real friend is one who walks in when others walk out."

-Walter Winchell

Comments

  1. MerylDecember 8, 2010 at 1:05 PM

    Wow!!! Aside from being a wonderful writer, I wanted to say how lucky you are to have found a friend like Claire...they certainly are a rarity. All the friends I've had turned out to be, I guess, aquaintances because when I needed a friend the most is when no one was around. The one I thought was my best friend basically told me one day "Things are so crazy right now with the 2 deaths in my family that maybe you shouldn't call me = I'll call you when things settle down." That was over a year ago and I still haven't heard from her. So treasure that friendship because TRUE friends are hard to find.

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