Its hard to say when someone becomes special to you; just as its hard to pin point the exact moment someone switches from being someone you know, to being someone you call a friend. When it comes to my friend Sue, I am sure would say it was when I started coming down on my own to visit her daughter Brie in Jacksonville, and then I continued coming down to see Sue. But for me, it was long before that. Seventh grade to be exact, when Sue took Brie and I shopping for our Environmental Studies camping trip to the Appalachian Trail, and on the way we stopped at the one and only 'Dairy King' for Cherry Milkshakes, and Sue insisted on us having fries and cherry cokes too. In my family we had never splurged like this on a pre-dinner snack and I just thought Sue B was the coolest. She definitely earned an A+ in my book that day.
After that day, I learned to count on Sue's smiling face in my life. The supportive words she would share, the thoughtful way she would listen with a knowing look that said 'this too shall pass', the fun ideas and plans we have made in the 20+ years of knowing each other.
Even when I lived in New York City, Sue was a part of that life too. She came to visit me for her 50th birthday and we made the biggest sign so she would get called on by Al Roker on the Today Show. She helped me move into my most favorite apartment I ever had in the city; and at least once a year she always opened her doors to me at her 'Beach House'. So when Sue told me she was going to live her dream and go to Italy for a two weeks to celebrate her birthday, I had to be there too, to share the experience with her and for her.
There are few people I would fly across the pond for, but Sue Barfield is definitely one of them. I can never thank her enough for the sunshine she was added to my life, the friendship she has offered, and the experiences she has made better just because she was apart of it. She is most certainly a friend of a lifetime, and I am tremendously honored to have her in my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment