What I Didn't Expect

I had hoped my baby would be healthy.

We didn't know she was a girl until she appeared in the world 18 years ago. Healthy.

I had hoped she would have all functioning parts.

She did.

I had hoped she would have a good functioning brain. 

I feared the retardation my brother has.

She had good function.

Once all the parts were here and worked, I hoped she would like to learn and love to read. She did.

Once I realized how much she loved school, I expected she would graduate high school.

She did.

I expected good grades. She got them.

I hoped she would make it through sober, intact, emotionally healthy.

She did.

What I didn't expect is the friendships.

I hoped she would make the kind of enduring, necessary, epic friendships that I have, that have kept me alive at various lows.

She has them.

Such close friends. Friendships that are nearly decades old now. Already. Whew.

Love. Laughter. Expectations. Limits.

I didn't expect it. But she has them.

Well done sweet girl...

Angela Does Barbie

My friend Angie's birthday is in late August. She sure has been on my mind. We have been friends for 30 years. I know a lot about her. We sat in English together through our junior and senior years in high school. We didn't always talk as much as my other friends. Angie smiled much and brooded a bit. I knew what she was thinking when the one of the "perfect" girls snooted by. It would be fair to say we raised a little hell in high school. Now I know the only difference between 'good' girls and 'bad' girls is the truth...

I always idolized Angie. She seemed so smart and present, spiritual and mature. And she was and is. We used to talk about Led Zeppelin. Then it became our dead brothers. Now it is the tidal wave of age and all that implies. I think a true friendship started way back then but it has deepened despite how little we get to see each other.

But there is is one thing we never talked about. It never came up. Barbie. We never talked about Barbie. My friend Shelley and I sure did. She even bought my daughter Dentist Barbie. I bought my daughter so many dang Barbies hoping the fever would catch. It really didn't. She liked Polly Pocket and who could blame her? Barbie was so damn perfect and white and tall.

I didn't really play with Barbie as a kid so much as decorated for her. I would set up an elaborate compound for her and her groovy friends. There were really great bedrooms complete with shoe box lids for beds decked out with linens and those green mod washcloths of the 70s for bedspreads. Remember bedspreads? Its all comforters and duvet covers now. But Barbie had fabulous thick luscious green and chartreuse swirl washcloths to keep her warm at night.

But Angie and I never discussed it. However, I now know Angie's whole Barbie agenda via her blog. It is such a good post, a favorite among favorites. She is a brilliant writer and she always has been. I am so proud of her for launching into writing in a serious way, one that I can be a part of.

She is one of those people, because she is quiet and introspective, that after all these years I am still getting to know. She continues to fascinate me three decades later. There is one thing I do not like about her though. I don't see her enough. Hey Angie, do you and Francie want to come over to listen to 45s or for some camping?

Please visit Stalking Sunsets, get to know her, fall in love and wish her a happy birthday in any order you prefer.