My Sister in Spirit....by Lisa

Well, she wrote about me so I’m writing about her. We have been friends in sunshine and in rain, as the saying goes. We met in 10^th grade, when we were both in the fall play-I think it was Arsenic and Old Lace. We lived across the street from each other so it was convenient for carpooling, and that helped our friendship along. I remember being in the car and we were all singing along with the radio, “Sad Eyes”. Jodi had this little dog named Kwi (pronounced Chi, like the greek letter), and he was ferocious. He was going to devour me alive with all the energy his 10 pounds of fur could muster. I had to hide in her closet until he could be cooped up so he wouldn’t bite me. We used to play tennis together at the tennis courts where I lived, we rode the bus when we had to and endured being taunted by the kids who lived in the trailer park. Jodi and Mike would pick me up and drive me to school sometimes so I didn’t have to ride the bus, thank goodness. In Spanish class, in the “6^th Grade Club”, we called the bus the Big Yellow Taxi. Our friend Daryl was in the club, in fact I think he invented it. He was an unconventional kid who drew drawings a la Mad Magazine, usually involving depictions of people with boogers coming out of their noses.  There was a guy named Dan in the class, and although I don’t think he was really part of the 6^th grade club, he used to let me wear his class ring around school, which I thought was really cool, because we weren’t dating. Anyway, Jodi and I used to make collages a lot, with cutout pictures and words from magazines. And we tried to write each other notes in Spanish. Jodi came and saw my infant son in 1984 when I was home visiting, and then I didn’t see her again until her wedding to Mike. After that we didn’t see each other until April 2010—about a 20 year gap! We lost touch at times but always found each other. Jodi has wisdom like no one else in my life-and what I appreciate so much about her is that she is the only person who will really tell it to me straight. She calls me out on my “stuff”, tells it like it is. She tells me to grow up and get my act together when I need to be told that, even if I don’t like it (she’s right). I need that and I know where I can go to get the truth, spoken in love. She is my sister in spirit, and I’m so thankful for her presence in my life. We’re different but alike. We can talk until we are out of words and still have things to say. She loves me and I know it, and that is priceless, like the things you can’t buy with Mastercard! I hope she knows that I love her too, and that I treasure the friendship we share. Hugs!