the blessings and beauty of a really great best friend

As you know, Caroline and her fabulous almost-my-cousin husband, Willie, invited Mac and me over for an anniversary celebration last Sunday (on the actual occasion of our 12th wedding anniversary). And of course, Mac got vomititis, as Willie called it, and we had to postpone until today.

Caroline and Willie are hosting a garden wedding at their beautiful marshfront home next weekend and they've worked like dogs the last couple weekends to get the yard in pristine condition. Did that stop them from being gracious enough to have us over last weekend and then rescheduling for this weekend? They put out 45 bales of pinestraw yesterday and today still cooked these delicious stuffed mushrooms, followed by homemade bleu cheese and walnut ravioli, lobster tails and asparagus. And that was just the prelude to this divine chocolate cake and ice cream that probably had more goodness stuffed in it than anything I ate from Tuesday to Friday combined of this week. They should have been in the bed today with the heating pad on their backs but they did all that for us.

Caroline has never forgotten one single anniversary of the last twelve. She's remembered every milestone of my life since we graduated from college and she's never forgotten Jimmy's birthday since we were married. She has sent goodie boxes to us from near and far; we even got bagels from New York City when we lived in Mozambique.

This friendship isn't about the bagels or the birthday presents. It's about the remembering and the celebrating of life. Caroline has seen the good, the bad and the ugly in me, and she still loves me and celebrates me. She knows, like I do, that marriage isn't always pretty or easy, but it's certainly worth the trouble and celebration with the right man. She has, like I do, a hard-fought-for only child that's precious and perfect and worth a hundred children to someone else. We share a lot of familial struggles that a lot of people don't have or don't understand.

Most importantly, we share the gift of time and history. I have been blessed by a lot of great friends who make a lasting mark on my life, but who, sadly, enter and exit my life within a two-year period. I hope that with luck I'll see those people again at some point in the future, but there are no guarantees.

Caroline's not like one of those friends. She'll be there. Luck or not. It'll happen. Why? Because she's more than a great friend. She's a best friend, no matter the time or distance that separates us.

So Caroline, here's to you and the beautiful and generous gift of your friendship. Thank you for making my anniversary special this year and every other year! I am a better person because of the light you, Willie and Isabel bring into my life.