Shine On

I had lunch with a girlfriend yesterday, one of my Besties, as PaKou would say, and I love that term so much it's in my vocabularly now and soon to be in Websters, I'm sure. There's nothing like sitting across from someone whose face you memorized, every little strand of hair and worry wrinkle, being able to see every one of her teeth, even the molars, because we are laughing so hard I can see her tonsils.

When we are together, we talk about dieting while ordering dessert. There is this really effective communication shorthand we use as we carry forward with news, not gossip per se because it's just us. We wouldn't dream of trying to get away with showing life all scrubbed and shiny on a little pedestal for the inside of a Christmas card: I mean, what would be the point?

And so this Bestie who gets teary because even after a 3 hour lunch she isn't talked out -not by a long shot- and doesn't want it to end, she listens to my grandiose plans and in her magical way believes every one of them, believes so hard that even I come to think everything is possible, and she says you should do it all but don't forget to write.

I am caught in mid-air by how well she knows what I love to do more than anything in the world. She doesn't care a whit that there are people whose writing takes my breath away and makes me feel small. She sees my light and knows it will shine just as brightly as the next guy's by being who I am and doing what I love. Besties are like that. Thank God.