There are so many different types of friends.....you know how it goes. You have friends that you work with, friends that live in your neighborhood. Maybe you have friends from church or a civic group that you belong to. We have childhood friends, old friends, "friends" of friends, and sad to say, even "fair weather" friends. The list goes on and on.
If someone were to ask you, "Who was your best friend growing up?" what might you say? Are you still in contact with them? And blessed is the person who still considers that best friend from childhood their very best friend today. Such is the case of my little sister, Cindy, and her very best friend since first grade at Haven Grade School, Kim Heinrich Biery. Time and circumstance could never seem to separate them or dissolve their special kinship with each other. Not too many people are afforded that rare gift in this life.
Well, here's the last of the photos of my FB friends that I have so far "connected with" for something to drink and conversation about the meaning of life. I'll be plugging away at it again this week and will post those photos as the week goes by. Hope you are having a good day, no matter where you are.
Lori teaches Pre-K at our school. She's got the patience of a saint and a real love for teaching the littlest of students. I love her innovative ideas--it was always fun to go into Lori's room and see all of the cool ways that little kids were learning! I probably wouldn't do so well with a room full of kids that have only been "out of the womb" for less than 60 months--but I'm sure glad that teachers like Lori Johnson are there to give them their best start at school.
Picture 2-Raimy Hester, taken at Lincoln Elementary, March of 2011
You have to really admire all that it takes to run a library in an elementary school! Raimy is an excellent librarian with many years of experience. I am forever amazed at how she keeps track of all those books. She was always so helpful with all of us who popped in each day, often at just a moment's notice as we were looking for books to supplement a lesson we were doing. For sure, Raimy loves books and I'm going to make a wild guess that somewhere along the line, as a small child, that love of books was nurtured by one of her teachers. Hey, while we are on the subject of reading, how many of you are reading a good book right now? Do you remember going to the library as a little kid? What were the books that you always hoped to check out? You, FB friends, are honoring the work of librarians just like Raimy when you encourage others to read a good book. Knowledge has always been and will always be, power.
Picture 3-What a crew! My teaching cohorts at Lincoln Elementary-March, 2011
Carol, Julie, Dalia, Patti, Wendy, Elizabeth and Andrea
great people who love kids!
This group of FB friends were a part of the staff that I worked with at Lincoln Elementary this past year. These guys have "bailed me out" of a problem or two or five many times during these past few months. If I had a problem, I would never have hesitated to go to one of these women and said "Help! I need ____________________ (fill in the blank). I could trust them and I hope they could trust me in return. For better or worse, the folks with whom we work become our "family." There were days when I spent more waking hours with this group of women than I did with anyone else. And if you are going to spend THAT much time together, isn't it wonderful to be able to spend it with a friend? And has been said, many times before, the more hands that do the work together, the lighter the burden is. Thank you Lincoln staff for helping pick up the slack and carry part of my burdens each day. I won't be forgetting the goodness you showed me.
Picture 4-My BAK riding buddy, Shelley Rodriguez
Not too many friends would hop on their bike on a cold and windy day in March and ride with you, but Shelley would! She was even brave enough to ride almost 25 miles a couple of weekends later, into headwinds of a constant 28 mph. And this summer, she rode alongside me for the first 218 miles of the BAK before I had to stop. She and her husband, Clint, went on to finish 3 days later. So proud of them both. Shelley and I taught together at Avenue A as ESL teachers. When I "retired" last May, it was Shelley who stepped up and took my place. She is a great friend, an encourager, a "cheer leader" who motivated me to try to do my best. In my mind, that's what good friends do for one another and they do it EVERY day.
Picture 5-My little sister, Cindy Daniels
I come from a big family....7 kids in all....and this picture shows the two littlest of the bunch. I am child #6 and Cindy is child #7. Cindy has worked hard to lose weight and has successfully shed more pounds than I weigh. This photo was taken back in January and believe me it doesn't even look like her today. I am very proud of her and the determination she has shown to get healthy and stay that way! All of us, me included, probably practice some unhealthy habits. It's really a great thing to be able to get on track, as Cindy has, to improve your health. So way to go Cindy! Keep up the good work. :)
Picture 6-Bob Hunter-June 2011
If it were not for Bob Hunter, Peggy Miller would probably never have tried biking across Hutchinson let alone Kansas. Bob and I have been friends since 1987 but it seems like longer than that. One of the things that I like best about Bob is that we "see things eye to eye" LITERALLY. If you need more explanation on that one, please "message" me. LOL, LOL Bob is one of those friends that will remain a friend forever. Perhaps one of his best character traits is the fact that he doesn't judge people, like me, for what they can or cannot do. He's been a friend who waits "quietly in the background" of life. We might go for months without seeing or speaking with one another. But that doesn't matter--when we do see one another again, we just pick right up from where we left off however long ago it might have been. Every single one of us needs at least one friend like Bob Hunter. When Bob isn't busy being a friend to folks, he works for the City of Hutchinson as an arborist. If a tree has problems, Bob Hunter is the "Dr." that they call. His impact on my life has been immeasurable. Thanks Bob!
No comments:
Post a Comment