mel.

this is mel.  the plan was to not have any photos of myself on here, but all the photos i had of mel alone were...well...there was the one or the ten that i have in her head to toe UT gear.  she would like to deny that she is a fan, but LET"S BE HONEST, i don't have UT pajamas and i AM A FAN!  
need i say more?  she is from georgia...UGA is her main squeeze, she loves the G, and the bulldogs.  whatever, she doesn't have those pajamas.  so i didn't want to post those just in case someone saw the denial of georgia for UT, wouldn't want anyone to know.  i am that sweet.  like sugar.  then there are the pictures i have of her running.  not exercising, although she does that a lot too, running towards me down the hall of where we used to work. you see i have no normal pictures of her and she of me.  we tend to do that to each other.  then i have several with stickers all over her face, and then we have the onsie pajamas pictures that i still loose sleep over.  normal?  we bring out the best in each other. really, we do.  let's be clear.  in all the pictures i have of her behaving in such inappropriate behavior, she has the same pictures of me...and i am sure they are worse. 
thank god she doesn't have a blog.  
yet.  
oh lord.
i love her.  when we met, we could not stop talking.  if you know us, you know that we have that problem anyway, but seriously, we just had a connection.  i have a degree in special education and was working in my field when i met her.  she had just moved to tennessee with her husband, and applied to work where i was working.   i instantly saw she had a gift with special needs children, well all children.  so i told my boss that she was too good to just be a childcare provider, she needed to be hired as an early interventionist, which was what i did at the time.  my boss listened and was not disappointed.  she now has a master's in special education and is a wealth of knowledge about the field and especially children with autism.
after knowing each other for many years and relocations, her husband is in the army, so they must go where the army sends them.  we have remained as close as we ever were.  she is a constant in my life and i am proud to call her friend.  she always knows what to say to encourage me, she will listen and also be honest and tell me that i am not always right.  she's good like that. 
and almost two years ago, i was lucky enough to watch her become a mommy.
we like to call this little precious thing...peanut.
because, well.  she's a peanut.
(okay, that's not really her name, just in case your worried...
we just call her that.
  calm down.  i would not really let her name her first born a nut.  seriously people.)
she is a loving wife and mother and one of my very best friends. recently, after a stint in state college, pennsylvania they are now living in kansas.  for the new year, she was home visiting her family in georgia. (which is where the one piece onsie's appeared.  did i tell you she wore them with uggs?  yeah, she did.  and that i still loose sleep over them?  yeah, i do.)  so i invited myself to see she and her family for the new year. since we do not live close anymore, anytime i get to see her is a treat.  we stayed up all night talking and talking, we still talk on the phone multiple times a day, but we always have plenty left for a real live conversation.  
we are good like that.
i am flying to kansas on peanuts 2nd birthday to partay...and celebrate like its 1999.  and let's be honest, what would her 2nd birthday be like without an appearance by aunt caca (me, if you are wondering).  
that will be in april.  then in the summer...
she is leaving me.  oh, she left me when she moved from tennessee to savannah years ago. but this time, it's for real.  she and her husband, peanut and tacoma (the pup) are headed to germany for three years!  what will i ever do?  
i will manage somehow, thank goodness for the internet.  mel is first class, she is one in a million.    i appreciate her daily, and do not tell her enough.  when i think back to how randomly we met, i am so thankful that we did, because i can not imagine my life without that onsie wearin', UT lovin', peanut bearin' (hey, don't knock it, it rhymed.) mel.  
clearly, i am the blessed one here.

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