Moey, Josh Ritter + Friendship

The flower seeds I bought today. I can't wait to plant them.
And I don't care how corny it is, that saying about friendship is true:
From little seeds of kindness the finest friendships grow. 

Tonight I met Moey for dinner. Her formal name is Maureen Patricia Cassidy Sgambati [an Irish girl, she married an Italian, just like my Mom did]. I call her Moey.

We each had a glass of white wine and a chance to talk. We've been really close since we were fourth graders at Saint Mary's School in Dumont, and quite luckily, she lives just 30 minutes up the Garden State Parkway.

We've been through so much together. Fifth grade science fair project [really lame version of digestive system], Girl Scout camping trips, father-daughter dances, proms, track, cross-country, crushes, relationships, betrayals, breakups. College [she went to University of Delaware and I went to Rutgers, but we sent letters and visited]. My Mom's death, her grandpa's death. Bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, births. Marriage, motherhood, kindergarten, teenhood. Careers. Dad. Hurts, joys, triumphs, fears. Disappointments, worries. And lots of laughter and good times. Moey has been there for H., Figgy, Punch and Dad [I sent her to visit him once when I was in Maine, and he was really touched that she brought him a bottle of wine and bakery butter cookies].

We've been through just about everything.

One thing that always stands out is the time Moey--a star quarter miler on our track team--said she'd quit and not run in the county championships because our coach was not putting me in the county race. I had run the two-mile dutifully all four years, but a better teammate who had been out with an injury most of the season was back, and the coach wanted to put her in so we'd have a better chance of placing. The big booming male coach was not swayed by Moey's principles. She did run the race in the end, and I was glad. She was part of a quarter-mile relay team, too. But I never forgot how ethical and loyal she was, how she stood up for me.

I am grateful for my dear friend. There's a song I love by Josh Ritter, called Lantern. [Click on the word to see a YouTube video of him singing it.] It's all about holding the lantern high for another person to help light their path. When I pop the CD in my car and sing it, I think of H. But it also applies to my Moey. She has held the lantern high for me so often; I try hard to hold it high for her, too.

I'll hold it high for you, cause I know you've got
I'll hold it high for you, your own valley to walk
I'll hold it high for you, though it's dark as death
I'll hold it high for you, and then gets darker yet
I'll hold it high for you, though your path is blocked
I'll hold it high for you, through the thieves and rocks
I'll hold it high for you, keep you safe from harm.....


Good night.


TCOY

1. Boot camp.
2. Walked Sug around block.
3. PB banana shake with lots of ice.
4. Raked up and hauled a second wheelbarrow full of dead leaves. 
5. Nap.
6. Bought Jewel Blend Nasturtium seeds!
7. Big spinach salad at restaurant with Moey but, um, this may or may not have balanced out a cheeseburger, small fries and small vanilla shake gotten previously at McDonald's on Route 46 East. It was a stressful, dark day in some ways, what can I say. And damn, why do they have to automatically put whipped cream and a cherry on top of their milkshakes now? I was helpless in the face of it--or shall I say chose to be helpless.