the best gift in life ~ is being loved and loving others

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Yesterday, my lifetime best friend Sue, my sister in my heart and a friend I've had for 40 years this year, called me. We rarely talk but it's like we've never stopped talking when we do connect. We have only met one time, in 1987, when she came from the UK to Michigan for a week to stay with me. Today we talked about "old" times. When there were no computers or cell phones and the post office was our only way of communicating. She reminded me of the recorded tapes we used to exchange and how she'd spend her last dime posting an airmail letter to me. I talked to her daughter, Lydia Robyn, now in 11th grade... my namesake. I have never been so honored or humbled as the day she told me her only daughter would carry my name.

There are no material items that I need or want in this world. They are nice to have, but I have never desired "things". The things I hold most high in my heart are the people in my life and our time we can spend together. Sue gave me a gift that is priceless today... herself. I miss her so much and yet, I know, that she is as close to me as if she were in the same room right now as I am. Our hearts are linked forever... a bond for eternity.

Today I have turned 50 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant and having my children and babysitting. It seems like only yesterday that I was leaving Texas to move to a new life in Michigan. It seems like only yesterday that I was driving my first car, a 1956 blue Ford Mustang. It seems like only yesterday that I was writing an airmail post to a girl that would become a forever friend...

Funny thing about time ~ it doesn't stand still but it feels like it hasn't passed yet. I love all of the experiences my life has brought me. I have so many people who love and care about me that it is overwhelming to think about the amount of lives one can touch in fifty short years... and the amount of lives that have touched mine. I am grateful for every one of you... my family, my friends, my life long and newer life friends. This is to all of you... and especially to Sue:

Thank you. Thank you for bringing sunshine into my world and love into my life. Thank you for giving me the best gift anyone could receive ~ *you*. Thank you for choosing to stay in my life and allowing me to stay in yours. You have made my life a wonderful crazy roller-coaster. It's been an adventure of a lifetime. I can't wait to see where the next fifty years takes us. I am ready for the adventure to continue!!!  :)

I love you!