Special

Sometimes, the hardest part of writing a blog is the very first sentence.  It’s hard to know where to start things like this.  Where exactly do I begin with something that has so many different starting points?

I guess, when all else fails you start at the beginning…but I don’t even remember where the beginning is.  All I know is that on that day, my life changed in a way that I would never have imagined.

The day I graduated from high school–when we were still just friends–she sent me flowers…white roses.  The card read, "I’m so proud of you!"

A few months later, after talking for hours every single night for almost a year, we somehow made the decision to go from being friends to being more….even though we were separated by an entire continent.  That was nine years ago today.

Since that day, she has been the one constant in my life.  My rock.  My angel.

She was there with me every step of the way during that dark, dark stretch of time between 1997 and 1999.  Most of the time, all I did was cry–and she cried with me.  When it got real bad, I couldn’t bring myself to speak…so she sat–in silence–with me.

She knew how much I hated college, but she never stopped encouraging me.  Even when I flunked math class after math class–a setback that further delayed our being together–she never gave up on me for someone closer or more "with it."  She supported me unquestioningly–adopting the line, "Not too much longer," when the distance got especially hard to take.

Every time I went through rough patches–no matter how trivial or how catastrophic, she was there to give me a shoulder to cry on or someone to lean on.

When my mom got remarried, she was there to help us celebrate.  When my niece was born, she made sure we had plenty of time during her vacation to welcome the new baby to the world.

When I graduated from college, she stood by my decision not to participate in the ceremonies, even though she would not have made the same choice and probably would have preferred my choice was different.

She has been there for every significant triumph and accomplishment of my adult life.  Sometimes vocal, sometimes silent–but always my biggest fan and my most unwavering ally.

She has been more than I could ever have asked for…and more than I deserve.

In nine years, I have learned a lot from her about dedication and unconditional love.  As we look toward the future together, I can’t help but be affected by her enthusiasm and her hopefulness.  She has given me more than I ever thought I’d have.  More than I would ever have had without her.

It’s hard to know exactly what to say about a person like that.  I could write for a year and not come close to finding the words to honor her appropriately…but she’d still encourage me to try.  She pushed me toward writing again after I had all but stopped doing it after college…because she knew I loved it and it would make me happy.

So this one’s for you, Marci.

I love you.