Congratulations LadyTee!!!

So something happened that was a few years in the making.

My best friend of 35 years, since the age of 10, graduated from college!

Glory!!

I am happy because she had to do it while working and raising kids. I didn't have to do it that way, but she did, and she made it happen.

She graduated from Clayton State, a University on the Southside of town...

She was so happy that she bought an alumni tag for her car license plate.

"How you gonna buy that and you haven't even graduated yet?" I asked.

"Don't matter," she said, as she and her son searched around for a screwdriver to use to put it on her car. "We're on our way to graduation."

And off we went. I wanted to just meet them at the graduation, but she made me ride with them. I obliged, even though I like to be able to jump in my car and get the heck on when I feel like it. It was her day so I did what she wanted.

I got all teary-eyed when Bobbi Jean (her mama) was helping her with her cap and gown.

They were tears of joy for her, but they were also tears of joy for myself. Ya'll just don't understand how many papers I had to proofread. It took hours and hours and hours, and...

Nevermind. This is about her, not about me.

Graduation commenced and it was great. It was short, lasting no longer than an hour and a half.

I caught a few pictures of her getting her diploma and walking out of the ceremony.





She don't look all that happy. Do you realize there are NO more papers to write, LadyTee????

So we all met back up at the car to leave. We couldn't do that without taking a few pictures, though.

LadyTee and her kids, Nell and Miracle!

LadyTee and her kids and her play Mama Anne!

LadyTee and Milc!

LadyTee and her Mama, Bobbi Jean!

Bobbi Jean like to show all 32 teeth. Turn down the wattage, Bobbi Jean!! Bring it down a notch!

LadyTee and her son Nell!

Finally, a picture of me, LadyLee and Ladytee.

I don't take or post many pictures of myself, so you better catch it while you can.

Our nicknames go back to high school, some 26 years ago. We'd see each other in the hall, and yell out those names. This worked best when we were at opposite ends of the hall. The hard yell was hilarious, and I know it annoyed people. And it goes on to this day. Without all the yelling, though. LOL.

We left graduation and went to dinner at the Golden Corral. We went back to her house and hung out for awhile. I finally left her house around 8 at night.

Such a great day.

Congratulations, my friend.

Lord knows you were and have always been my cheerleader in ALL things, through the good times and bad. I am so happy for you!  This is such a great accomplishment.  Go girl!!

On to bigger better things!

Always!

Birthday Gifts Part II. Gifts from my BBF LadyTee

One thing my best friend and I do every year is that we spend our birthdays together.

This has been going on for the past 15 years or so.  That's a long time. She has fun planning my birthday, and I have fun planning hers. Although this year, she was a bit stressed about it. I didn't get that.

Anyway...

So my best friend LadyTee always gives me the coolest gifts. They are never expensive, but sentimental in value.

This year, she gave me a small framed picture of herself and her family.

And she also gave me some fresh flowers. And a polka-dot plant.

This is funny to me. I am such a tomboy. These are some bright bright colors. I think it is was a joke.

"When I walked around the corner and saw them, girl," she said, "I just had to get it."

That had both of us laughing. I don't like bright colors. She knows that. But she knew I would love them because they came from her.

I had both the flower and the plant on the dining room table, but your friendly neighborhood cats, Callie and Mitch, were NOT having that. I looked up and the plant had been knocked off the table. And they were going so far as batting it around. My loud shrieks broke up their shenanigans, sending them on mad dashes to their hiding places. Hence, the flowers are upstairs in the closed bathroom. And the polka-dot plant is at work on my desk.

And LadyTee always buys the best birthday cards.

And she writes the nicest messages in her cards.

I am thankful for LadyTee. I remember the first time I saw her. It was at Duncan Park, during our day camp's field trip in 1979. This bowlegged girl was walking around the pool with a towel over her head watching folk and dictating, telling folk what to do. I was only 9 years old at the time, she 10 years old. I couldn't understand why she was talking so much trash.

Who would've known some 35 years later that I'd be thinking the same thing she wrote on that card... "Jesus loved me enough to create you." 

That's such a bold, grand statement. There's no way I will ever feel unloved by God. He thought enough of me to give her me as a friend, someone who loves me unconditionally. She knows the total arc of me... and hasn't run away. That makes me feel great about life.

And she gave me one last gift. A shadow box.

For my father's flag.

I hadn't bought one. I didn't know what to even do with the flag. I wrapped in a ton of cellophane wrap and set it up on top of the bookcase until I could do something with it.

But she came in the door with the shadow box. And we figured out how to open it and put the flag in.

And dealing with my father's flag bought back so many memories of my father's burial, and the things that occurred surrounding it. I haven't written about it, but I want to...

To be continued... 

Hangin' with LadyTee, part I

So...

My best friend and I look forward to our birthdays. For years, we have taken each other's birthday off and spent the day together.


(Uh, that is the first and last time I put a pic of myself up on this blog, so you better catch it while you can! Pick yourself up off the floor, Serenity-30!!)


I'm not sure how this started up. It was all so automatic when we were teenagers, but I lived in New Orleans for a couple of years, and I suppose it started when I got back, in my very early 30s.

The day usually consists of a movie, lunch or dinner, and some shopping. (Yes, I frown up at this, but she's a girly-girl and loves to shop. I, a tomboy, hate shopping!).

I called her early Sunday morning to see if she was awake. I was hoping she wanted to put this off, as I wanted to watch some college basketball. But she was,and she sounded bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to "get in the streets".

The chick was very excited.

No basketball for this Oldgirl.

So we decided to head to the movies first.

We saw Taken.

Mannnnnnn, that was a goooooooood movie!

WOW!!!

I am buying that one the day it comes out on DVD.

Really though.

All I gotta say is this: if you want to know what happened to Nat.alie Holl.away, go see the movie.

I ain't being crass, I'm just being real.

Whoever saw the movie... Ya'll know what's up.

We were two of only 5 people in the movie.

So you know how "us" do.

Heck yeah, we were talking hard to the screen. We sat there, munched on a shared bag of popcorn, and talked all throughout the movie.

"Hit that sucka!"
"Ooooooooooh!"
"DAAAAANNNNNNNNG!"
"Look at her, she think she getting over."
"He's a buster!!"
"That's what he get!"

And so on and so on.

A movie is good when we talk a lot.

I liked that movie, as it had a heck of a lot of shooting and fighting in it. Most of my stories have some mess like that jumping off, so this was right up my alley...

It all reminded me of when we would go to the movies during our preteen and teenage years. Back then, we would stuff our coats and purses with hot dogs, burgers and candy from the mall, and eat in the movies. We were particulary fond of the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but these days, our tastes are a bit more "refined", lol.

So after the movies, we headed off to do some ol' girly mess. I was whining and grumbling the whole way there, but once we got there...

I had a really good time.

To be continued.