Dear Diary,
This weekend I sold a cool turtle bench made out of tile and cement to a woman in North Park. She was as nice as could be and had a glorious backyard that she created with her own two hands. Flowers, succulents, water fountains, fairy lights, statues, old beautiful trees. And, the vibes coming off this older woman were powerful and kind.
We got to talking while Antonio did all the heavy lifting. She said she couldn't bend down so easily because her back was so burned. I asked her if she stayed out in the sun for too long. She told me that it was from her radiation treatments. She has cancer in her lower back. They can't operate so they are hoping these treatments were going to do the trick. She was on her final one. When she saw my mouth wide open, she told me that she has had cancer six times. Six. And, then she told me this "I know cancer will eventually take me, but not this one and not today." A tear rolled down my face. Wow. What a completely beautiful attitude. What in the world do I have to complain about? She doesn't even know that she taught me a valuable lesson...this woman who happened to see an ad that I placed for this turtle bench. You just never know what a person is dealing with.
In case you are curious, here's the turtle bench that she bought. It didn't fit in our patio, but it is perfect in her yard.
As we were leaving her house, I noticed a sign on her front lawn. Coolest sign ever. What a great person.
On another note, I haven't seen my baby girl in 10 days. She and her dad and step mom went on a road trip with all of her step-siblings to go see Charlie in Eugene, Oregon. I was jealous and a little sad that they all got to see my boy and I didn't, so I did something kind of silly. I printed out my face, life-sized and Antonio's face and taped them to back-scratchers that I bought at The Dollar Tree. I instructed Evan to stick us underneath all their stuff and take us out when they got to Charlie. All I wanted was a picture of us with my sweet boy. Well, Evan followed through like a champ. hahaha. I love these pics and I love that my kids were into it.
This Friday is my best friend Stacey's birthday. We have been best friends since we were 3 years old. We met in pre-school. We went through elementary school, middle school, high school and college together (SDSU.) We lived together in college with another elementary school friend, Colleen. I was in her wedding, too. I got married shortly after she did, but I didn't have a wedding for her to be in because we eloped. Then, she moved to Washington. I miss her so much. I don't get to see her very often and it hurts.
Anyway, she has been with me through thick and thin. She took me to rehab, she was there when I got out. She continues to be my pillar of strength (I am literally crying right now and I am not a big cryer. Stacey is my tender spot. She always will be.) She sent me a picture of us on our first day of Kindergarten at Freemont. So innocent and so full of promise.
See, I really do have blonde hair. Antonio saw this and asked me if my mom let me dye my hair at such a young age. WTH? hahaha. Let's just say it got a little darker over the years and then it magically got blonde again.
So happy early birthday to my beautiful, amazing friend of a lifetime, Stacey. I love you so much.
Ok, the first song I included will always remind me of Stace. It came out when we were in fourth grade. My sister and I got hit by a car on our way to a picnic lunch on a Sunday. While we were in the hospital, this song resonated with us for some reason. It has nothing to do with being a friend or anything, but it's a song we will always remember. Then, I attached a song that DOES sum up our friendship. Thank you for reading.
See you next week, Diary.