(circa 1994)



Happy Birthday to my oldest and dearest friend, el-e-e! We have spent years comparing and mulling over boyfriends. homework, books, prom dresses, college majors, jobs, wedding dresses, pregnancy, husbands, and kids. One day it will be grandchildren and great grandchildren! I am still reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and am sure that el-e-e is my laotong.

I have tried in vain to creatively express to the blogosphere what an amazing woman she is. However, I seem unable to create the picture montage I had envisioned. It would be in poor taste to call your best friend to get technical advice on how to create something that you were creating for her, don't ya think?


So, is it possible to paint her with words?



She is...



unbelievably smart



petite



demure



funny, and sometimes downright silly



fiercely loyal



a voracious reader



deep, pensive, thoughtful


beautiful, especially her stunning baby blue eyes


the best crepe maker ever!


a loving and patient mother


a girl with the voice that will stop you in your tracks and make you cry (especially if she sings Friends at your high school baccalaureate or Wherever you Go at your wedding)


the only person I know whose eye roll might equal mine



a Texan, but we'll forgive her for that

the girl who introduced me to the love of my life

the best friend I could have asked for for the past 18 years


so much more than I could describe here




I hope that you all have a friend like her in your lifetime. And, if you are lucky, you can marry their cousin so that she is stuck with you as family for the rest of her life!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

El-e-e, Why is it that you have all the sparkly dress pictures? Those would have been a hoot to use for this post! You would be surprised how hard I had to hunt for a picture of the two of us. They must all still be at my mom's house. We need some updated pictures!