The Definition of "Friend"

Hi bloggers! Wow, I can't believe it's been 11 days since my last entry! Sometimes life can be soooo busy. But I'm back, ready to make you laugh today.

Today's blog is dedicated to my very good friend, Carolyn. We have shared so many hilarious experiences that I decided to tell you why she is such a good friend to me. To me, Carolyn is the person who defines what a true friend should be. She is the kind of person you always cherish and never forget. Here's a few reasons why:

1) The Night at Hooters (yes, that restaurant that everyone goes to "for the hot wings")

Carolyn and I went to a women's event at church. Even more hilarious is the fact that we were coming from church when we ended up at Hooters. After a fun evening at church, neither one of us were ready to go home, yet. If you stay at home with your kids all day, you can totally relate to that. Time away from home sometimes feels like escaping prison. Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate to be able to stay home with my kids. It's just that sometimes I get cabin fever. We all need a break every now and then.

So, as we were walking out to our cars after church, Carolyn turned me and said, "I don't want to go home yet. Let's go somewhere. Anywhere." I suggested Starbucks.

We pulled up to Starbucks just as they were closing. We stood there, staring in the window with sad little faces, almost begging the poor fellow at Starbucks to just let us in anyways. We probably looked like we were desperate for a cup a coffee when the truth was we were desperate for ANYTHING not involving Happy Meals, Chuck-E-Cheese or playscapes. However, the guy inside did not feel our pain.

"Sorry, but we're closed"

The next best thing was right next door. Open until at least midnight. Still serving hot food. Full of people having a great time. Inviting us to come over. There it was- Hooters.

We didn't even hesitate for a second. As we walked in, we were greeted by a lovely waitress in shorts that resembled underwear and a tight tank top with that famous logo right across the middle. There we were, two ladies from a church function, worn out from a day of child-rearing, not looking as fabulous as our waitress, but desperate to have an evening of fun with a friend, no matter where we had to go. We sat there at Hooters, eating fried pickles and drinking cokes until midnight. We talked and had a great time. Despite where we were, we were just two friends getting away for a little sanity. It was evening we will never forget. A good friend is there at all times.


2) The Junior High Dance

My oldest daughter, Morgan, was at her school dance on a Friday night. Carolyn and I had decided to hang out. Even though we didn't have any plans, we decided we would just play it by ear. When she arrived, it was getting close to time to pick Morgan up from her dance. We decided to go early and see how a junior high dance today compared to our adolescent days of girls standing on one side of the room and boys standing on the other, too nervous to dare ask someone of the opposite sex to dance. We were going to simply investigate, even though Morgan will tell you we came to spy on her.

Well, times have definitely changed! There was no one standing by a wall anywhere. In fact, this dance resembled my college days when we would spend a night out going from club to club on 6th Street in downtown Austin. These kids could dance! Not only that, but they had moves that would make a Baptist preacher damn them all to H-E-double hockey sticks in a heartbeat! We stood there, feeling old as dirt. I don't think we realized it, until that moment, but it had been longer than either one of us wanted to admit since we were that age. The one good thing that we both realized that night is that we weren't alone in this thing called aging. A good friend is someone you can grow old with.


3) Shaving My Sick, Hairy Cat

I saved this story for last because I think it represents true friendship more than anything. It was one of those things you do for someone and then halfway through doing it, you realize, "Why in the world am I doing this?" Here it goes:

My cat, Prissy, is a long-haired white cat who just turned 8 years old. When I got her as a kitten, I had no idea that she would be so hairy. In fact, she was from a pregnant stray that my aunt rescued from an alley near her job. When the kittens came, she let Morgan pick one to take home. Morgan picked Prissy, the cute little fuzzy female from the litter. She didn't look like she was from any special breed, such as Himalayan or Persian. Obviously, the daddy cat was from some line of cat royalty because Prissy grew up to be a beautiful long-haired diva cat with a name that fit her personality to a T.

As she's gotten older, her grooming habits have gone downhill a bit. In the Spring, she sheds so much that her fur gets matted up in knots and she coughs up hairballs constantly. Without being too gross, I will simply say that this year has been her worst. The mess has been worse than ever before. To relieve her pain, I have started shaving her each Spring.

Until this year, I have always shaved her myself. Because she hates the sound of the clippers, she freaks out and scratches me every time I attempt to remove the pounds of fur that has knotted up all over her body. I consider this task a form of self-torture, but it has to be done. After all, I love my cat.

About two weeks ago, Carolyn came over for a visit. I told her all about Prissy, the hairballs, the matted fur and how I had to shave her. I told her how much I disliked having to shave my cat because of the pain I have to go through while doing it. Carolyn, being the friend that she is, volunteered to help me. She asked for a pair of kitchen gloves and a sweatshirt to protect her hands and arms. After we got everything set up on the back porch, we began.

At first, Carolyn held Prissy down while I attempted to use the clippers to break through the 2-inch knots on her back. When it didn't work, Carolyn suggested switching positions, with me holding Prissy down and her using the scissors to cut off the big pieces first. There we sat, me holding my cat's head between my legs and her legs with my hands and Carolyn working the scissors through Prissy's hair like she was Edward Scissorhands. All the while, Prissy kept jerking her body and clawing at us with her back paws, desperately trying to free herself.

At one point, Carolyn was holding up Prissy's tail while she cut out chunks of dried poo-poo from the fur around her behind. Yes, I said poo-poo. If just hearing about it grosses you out, imagine my dear friend being the one doing it. Just then, we paused, realizing just how disgusting this was!

I said to Carolyn, "You're a true friend to be doing this. You know that?"

"You're right. I am," is all she said. And we continued grooming my cat until she was completely knot-free. That is true friendship!

So to Carolyn, I say thank you! Thank you for being the friend who shares the fun times. Thank you for being the friend whom memories are made with. And most importantly, thank you for being the friend through all of the poo-poo moments of life. A friend like you is one in a million!