A fetching friend

C.S. Lewis wrote, "Friendship is unnecessary like philosophy, like art. It has no survival value rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival." When we first moved to this strange land I knew no one. Then I met this girl.

Have you ever heard the saying, "opposites attract?" I have. I believe it. I see it in my own life with my friend Joli. She is kind and soft spoken and gracious and appreciative and wears pink nail polish. I am fickle, loud, opinionated, quite selfish and usually have my nails lacquered in black. She was raised the oldest of 10. I am the youngest of 5. She saved her money at age 12 to buy her own grain mill to make bread for her family. I squandered my quarters at the skating rink. We are a fetching match (She uses words like fetching. Me? Not so much). She was raised in a family that rivals The Little Women of Louisa May Alcott fame. Mine was like something off an episode of Jerry Springer.

For some crazy reason she likes me. If I were her I would stay clear of this sarcastic spend thrift. It's clear to me why she is a necessity to me. She brings a little kindness and civility to my madness. Whenever we spend time together, I leave a bit tempered. That usually lasts about 15 minutes.

Yesterday we had coffee. I had a nonfat, extra hot, double shot mocha to her simple green tea latte. We laughed. We cried. I gave her a bleak forecast to future parenting as mine are much older than her little darlings. She asked thoughtful questions. I reveled in her wholesomeness.

I feel so undeserving of this altruistic girl who clearly is a poor judge of character, bless her heart. But until she figures out better, I am going to enjoy her winsome ways as long as she can handle my wildness. Friendship is essential to survival. As John Donne once wrote, "No man is an island." The same is true for mothers.