MY FRIEND - MY INSPIRATION

I have known Fawn for several years and have volunteered several times to take her to one doctor appointment or another.  The first time Fawn asked me to drive her, I asked her if she could get up in my Jeep and if she couldn’t would she trust me to drive her car.  Fawn said “I’ll get right back to you”.  She called back shortly and said that she had called Judy who assured her that I was a good, safe driver so Fawn said she’d be happy to let me drive her car to get her to the doctor. You see, Fawn has cancer and has bravely withstood several chemo treatments, which, thank God, have been working for her. 

Fawn went into remission about the time Pat was moving and Pat suggested we have a party for Fawn, but I, in all my wisdom said that Fawn was a very private person and wouldn’t want one.  But then I talked to Fawn and told her that Pat was moving and she suggested we have a party for Pat.  (Okay, so I was wrong, wrong, and wrong, as I have occasionally been known to be.)  So we had a big going away party for Pat combined with a life celebration party for Fawn and it was great.  Everyone had a good time that is until the phone calls started coming in from the people who got their feelings hurt because they weren’t invited.  Can you see where this is going!  Fawn, being as softhearted as she is, decided that we needed another party for all those who got left out, and being afraid to forget someone else she put an ad in out little park paper and invited everyone in the park to come.  That was a fun party too but I did tell Fawn, “This is it – you get no more parties out of this”.

Fawn cooking up a storm!

About the time that Pat moved, Fawn and I became great friends.  I told Fawn (who is quite religious) that I thought God sent her to me so that I wouldn’t miss Pat so much.  Fawn and I started talking quite a bit and before long we were having hour plus phone chats several times a week.  We have the same backgrounds, she from Missouri and me from Oklahoma, husbands who were twits (or worse), the same dislike of phony people, similar political feelings and pretty much the same love of food, except I draw the line at Indian food.

I apologize to those who love Indian food before I say this, but I think the seasonings in Indian food taste just about as good as eating dirt.  (Not that I ever have, eaten dirt, that is.  Or maybe I have because when I was young I used to love to make mud pies.)  You notice I said young, not little, that’s because when you are six feet tall you were never little.

One of the things I love about Fawn is the laughter.  She just absolutely refuses to let life get her down and we always find something to laugh about, most of which I have sworn on my life not to repeat.  We often say that we are the best friends and worst enemies because we know so much about each other.  I can’t help but laugh along with Fawn because she has the sweetest little girl giggle it just makes me happy to hear it.

Seriously, Fawn is my hero.  I don’t think there is anything that she doesn’t know or know how to do.  She has even built a house from the ground up, including plumbing and electrical.  She designed and decorated her present home and it’s beautiful.  She has so many pretty things and her home is very serene and peaceful.  When I go over for lunch or dinner, she puts out all her gorgeous hand made or painted dishes, crystal, and her beautiful flatware.  The jelly, butter and condiments are put into little glass dishes.  We use cloth napkins and everything is just so girly and special.   When I remarked on it once she told me a story about someone saying “What are you saving it for, the next wife”.  But she also pointed out that she always puts one thing on the table in it’s original container, sometimes it’s the butter, or pickles, because that reminds her of her roots, not to get too caught up in being perfect and to remember that she didn’t always have nice things. 

Fawn's beautiful dining table!

Well, I could teach Fawn a few things about not being perfect.  The only time I even try is on holidays.  Other than that, it’s serving you out of the skillet, make a plate and sit anywhere.  Fawn has been a good influence on me, I don’t have near as many pretties as she does, but I have decided that YES, I need to start using them.  I made the decision, now I just have to put some action behind it.  What I keep thinking is – the more stuff you take out and use, the more dishes you have to do. Well, I’ll get to it some day.

We were both raised that the biggest meal of the day was dinner.  Dinner was at noon and supper was at night, usually a lighter meal.  We had a conversation recently about what our Mother’s used for napkins at the table in the olden days and neither one of can remember.  My family was poorer than hers and I can’t remember a tablecloth let alone napkins because this was the days before paper napkins, or paper anything.  I mentioned it to some other people and they can’t remember either.  Fawn is sure that her Mother used cloth napkins and I am just as sure that we probably wiped out mouth on the sleeve of our shirt (joke) or waited until the meal was over and washed them.  If any of you have insight into this very important question, I’d love to hear from you.

Wishing you Joy and Laughter Everyday!