it's better than being dead!

so today . . . is my friend wendy's 50th birthday!

i know, i know, it is hard to believe that i have friends who are that old, but i do.

wendy and i became friends several years ago when we taught in the same preschool. initially, her classroom was upstairs and mine was downstairs, so we didn't really get to know each other until that lucky day when i finally got to move upstairs with everyone else. our classrooms were side by side, and we had dutch doors. so sometimes we would hang over the closed lower portion of our doors, like horses in their stalls, and talk to each other. she had the cool classroom with the loft, while i had the classroom with all the random stuff in it. and then my room got painted . . . they let me choose the color, and i chose purple--kind of an orchid color. it was beautiful! they painted the doors and the window frames and the cabinets. and i thought it was the best room, because it was purple!! wendy did not agree!!!

it took a little while, but we eventually discovered that we liked each other. and when we got together, we were dangerous! harmless pranks were played. water was squirted. items were 'stolen' and held for ransom. jokes were told. crazy schemes were hatched . . .

like the year all the teachers travelled out of town for a conference . . . as usually happens when women go to conferences, first we shopped. but wendy and i didn't go to the mall--we went to toys r us and bought squirt guns. a plan was set into motion, and when the other teachers arrived back at the hotel, we took them hostage. now remember that these were just water guns. you would think they would just ignore us, or leave, or something . . . but they didn't--they went along with the game. thus was our power!!! we were so believable! and a little bit scary, i think . . .

at the conference we bought these cool glasses that made everything look like a rainbow when you looked through them. they didn't have ear pieces though--you just held them in front of your eyes with a little stick like opera glasses. i thought these were the greatest thing, and when i looked through them, i just felt weird. which resulted in my walking in a strange way that became known as "slinking." i slinked throught the target parking lot, which totally mortified wendy, which made it even more fun. i slinked a lot of places that weekend . . .

then i moved to the coast into a big house that needed sprucing up, but i was having a hard time getting started. i had no job and no new friends--just rollie and diandra--and so i sat there day after day looking at the paint cans, but not opening them. then wendy called. she said she was coming over to the coast to help me paint, and she was bringing a few other teachers with her. they came, and we painted. they spent the night, we ate pizza, and then we painted some more the next day. we didn't finish the job before they had to leave, but we were off to a good start, and i was able to finish it up on my own. if she had not come, that house might still have awful wallpaper and sponge painting on the walls!

time passed, and even though we would call each other once in a while, i found that without the daily contact and the shared experience of our jobs, we were losing touch . . .

a couple of years later, we moved to southern california. again, new town, no job, no friends--still just rollie and diandra (for whom i am very thankful!!) one day diandra said to me, "mom, you need to get on myspace. even wendy is on there now!" and so i did. we started communicating again, and i remembered why i liked her so much. we talked, we teased, we made a plan, and as a result she came to visit me last summer for almost a week. we had more fun . . . it started at disneyland where we had a frightening encounter with jack sparrow . . (ok, this doesn't look frightening, but you should have seen him try to chop off my hands!!)

we headed for hollywood (right after rollie took this picture . . . ) . . . went to graumann's chinese theater . . .and took in the local sights too. here we are at the cerritos library (i know it looks like a fountain, but the library is to the left of us.) those places will never be the same (well, maybe the library will--we were pretty subdued there . . . ) i think this was the first time someone not related to me came just to visit me.

on my 50th birthday, wendy sent me a triple chocolate mousse cake (or something like that.) it was chocolatey beyond belief! (i think i wrote a myspace blog about that. i'll have to look it up and post it--sorry albert.) it was a huge surprise--i thought it was a bomb or something! not only is wendy thoughtful and generous, she also plans ahead so a person's birthday gift actually arrives on their birthday (unlike some friends who are still looking for the perfect gift . . . )

wendy now teaches her class in "my" room. it is still purple, and she complains about it constantly, i'm sure. but i like the thought of her in that classroom, because i am pretty sure that some of my dna is still there stirring up trouble.

wendy, i wish we could have spent the day together at disneyland--it's free on your birthday, you know. if only you didn't live so far away! maybe when you turn 60 . . .