Great Friends

One of my dear friends is a kind, sweet, and thoughtful young woman, one of those strange people that you don't meet often: A Marvelous Friend.  From the day I met her, she has always been a person you can depend on and trust.  She gives till it hurts.  She plans things to the smallest detail.  She is always there for you when you need her, even if you don't ask her to be and, right now, she's my favorite person because she just gave me a metric ton of beads.

Naturally, I'm going to show them to you, because, why else would I mention it?

Lime green, black and shimmery silver Murano glass beads

I've known her since high school, back when she dyed her hair black, wore maroon lipstick and worked with the theater club making and painting sets.  Even then, she was kind of a reckoning force: Stellar grades, solid extracurricular activities, and the best-designed planner in Queen of Peace. 

Black, White and Shimmery Semi-opaque Murano Glass

That was important back then.  Your planner was a collection of your hopes, dreams, goals, ideals and where you kept your class schedule.  Personalizing it made it clearly and irrevocably yours in the world of plaid skirts and white polo shirts.

That swirly pendant looks dangerous.

There were three things the administration didn't touch: your socks, your planner and your hair.  Necessity regulated hair-style changes.  A ponytail doubled as a handy pencil case in a pinch, so it was most preferred.  Socks and planners were the things we were allowed to go wild with.  You saw everything in a person's planner.  Was she a nature lover?  A preppy chick?  A sports fanatic?  A rave-loving wild card?

Bats, skulls, pumpkins and pentagrams!  Huzzah!

Or a kind down to earth person who was a closeted horror movie-fanatic?  Seeing a person's planner told the story.

Happy Birthday and thanks for everything, Lizzer.