a friend for life....

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i met leslie 29 years ago. I was 24 years old and newly pregnant. i had the extreme good fortune to be a new patient of the most sought after doctor in alexandria, and i was going to have a baby. when i was called back to the doctor's exam room that day i had no idea how my life was about to change. this tall, dark haired beauty came to the waiting area, called my name and the rest is history folks.    * she had me at hello.*
by the time i left that day, we knew quite a bit about each other (both of us had been known to get in trouble at school for excessive talking) : ) and she had invited me to her house for tea.

little did i know that i had found my soulmate/bestfriend in that doctors office that day. little did i know how leslie would change my life for the better. little did i know that her family would become like family to me. the family i chose for myself. i didn't know that day that leslie would help me raise my children,  would drive to my house late at night to shove medications down my sick kids throats when they wouldn't take it for me and i was so overwhelmed and exhausted ( and had no momma to help me) that i was ready to stick my head in the gas oven. altho she loves my kids, when they would sometimes be wretched teens, girlfriend had my back and she would threaten to drive over and rip their lips off and staple them to the wall if they didn't treat me right. (now that's a good friend right there.)

she babysat and passed down her girls clothes to mine, she taught me about hospitality and how much the little things matter. she always celebrates things and makes every occasion extra special-whether it's ground hog's day or the bed prizes waiting for you when you come to stay.
 her parents took me under their wing too and told me to tie my scarf on cold days and stuff like that. just like they did to their own daughters. i loved it. i loved being nurtured by them. they were remarkable parents, so unlike any i'd  ever known. they were well educated, accomplished, open minded- gracious and so darn down to earth, that being in leslie's childhood home made me feel like i had a security blanket wrapped around my neck.
when my 3rd baby was born on Christmas Day, their big family took care of my other 2 for the day and gave them presents and showered them with so much love and attention that when daddy brought them up to the hospital to see their new little brother, my girl ran into the room and exclaimed "momma, will you have a baby every year on Christmas, so we can spend it at Nini's?"

When I met Leslie, my world went from black and white to technicolor. tomorrow is her birthday. she is constantly doing things for other people. i want her to have the best birthday of her life. she deserves it.  happy birthday my dear friend!!!