One thousand and one

Dear Friend,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for moving here eight years ago. Here, where the temperature is cool in July and the night air is so nice that I can sleep with the windows open. Thank you for the humming bugs and the bellowing frogs, and the leaves that rustle like whispered excitement. Thank you for living in a place with green mountains and winding roads and the 100% natural organic dog treats that I bought for Cheyenne and her strappingly handsome boyfriend, Isaac. Thank you for the Farmer's Market and fruit so fresh it danced on my tongue.

Thank you for marrying the right guy and for bringing two beautiful girls into the world. Two girls who delight my heart when they say my name or reach for my hand or show me a moth for the fourth time in five minutes. Thank you for the conversation we had on the drive home from the spinning class we went to that thrilled me to no end to experience with you -- a small healthy something to offset those many mornings we necessarily slept through in our 20's.

Thank you for giving me a birthday that let me spend time with your parents and have lunch with your mother and feel so incredibly at peace. Thank you for always welcoming me into your home and for loving me.

Thank you for fresh apple cider and the rushing rivers, for dinner of scallops and champagne after a drive in the rain. For ooples and banoonoos.

Last year, I spent my birthday in bed beside my mother, reading Winnie the Pooh to her and trying so hard to connect with her, to know she knew I was beside her and I was loving her. This year, I spent my birthday with you and your family. We held hands and said grace before having dinner. In that moment, with your youngest girl's hand in my left hand and your oldest girl's hand in my right, I knew that life is as round as the world and our friendship is as timeless and wonderful as faith.



And thank you for your father hugging me on my birthday and saying, Happy you you, and then telling me that's what you used to say on someone's birthday when you were a little girl. Happy you you!

Indeed. Happy me me.

XOXO