Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

I know that we haven’t spoken in a long while. It’s been even longer since we last saw each other. I can’t imagine the last time that I crossed your mind, but I want you to know that you have been on mine.

Every now and then something trivial and seemingly random will remind me of you. Sometimes it’s a song we sang or danced to together. Sometimes it’s a book or a movie that we used to quote all the time. Sometimes it’s a weird snack that we introduced one another to. Whatever it might be, it makes me smile, because it makes me think of you.

Facebook tells me I have 1,345 friends (today at least). You can imagine how challenging it is to keep up with that many people. I can’t tell how many of them are nearly strangers - friend requests I didn’t want to say no to, but I can honestly say that I do care about so many of those friends. I have crossed many paths with many people, and while I share varying levels of friendship with a great many of them, I am sincerely grateful for them all.

Thank you for every time you made me laugh - you know how I love to laugh. Thank you for the things you taught me that I never would have sought to learn on my own. Thank you for adventures in the sunlight and after sunset, or long past midnight. Thank you for the songs I still sing because you showed them to me. Thank you for songs I wrote that you somehow still remember. Thank you for game nights that didn’t seem to end and accepting my crazy competitive streak. Thank you for every delightful meal that we ever shared - you know that food is a love language of mine. Thank you for all the ways that you made me better - smarter, faster, kinder, wiser. Thank you for every time that you indulged my request for a photograph - I love to look back on those now that time has passed and we are apart.

Friend, I hope that you know what you mean to me. Whatever moments we shared that became fond memories, are like jewels I will treasure forever. Most people are not in our lives forever, and that’s okay. I just want you to know that I am so glad you were in mine for a time and that wherever you are now, I wish the best for you. I hope you’re healthy and happy and thriving. And if you’re not, I hope you’ve found lovely new friends to lean on.

Wishing you the best forever,

Moriah

Art by Christie Walker. Click the image to download and color this verse.

Tuesday's Ten: 10 Sensory Childhood Memories

1. Childhood looks like New York streets in yellow taxi cabs. And in a green Saturn. And in a beige Ford Taurus. Interesting people and places whiz by. Graffiti murals stretch over building sides.
    
2. Childhood sounds like car stereo playing 90s hits, and gospel cassettes, and eventually CDs, because we are so modern. Music never stops and technology is so exciting.
    
3. Childhood smells like lemon cleaning products, because that is what clean smells like. There was Ajax until we had Joy and there was Pledge.
    
4. Childhood tastes like cheesecake - Junior's strawberry cheesecake - the late night delight that dad brings home after work and the any occasion treat.
    
5. Childhood feels like hugs and kisses from folks I can't name who love me all the same and from family gathered for miles and miles around.
    
6. Childhood looks like Tulsa hills rolling to and fro and up and down, to school and to market, and best of all to home.
    
7. Childhood sounds like opening credits and marvelous film scores. Composers' songs play over and over, out of my speaker and inside my head. - John Williams, James Howard, and best of all, Hans Zimmer.
    
8. Childhood smells like eucalyptus resting in a vase on the small table in the entryway of our home, the first thing that I smell when I walk in the door.
    
9. Childhood tastes like Little Debbie Snacks for lunch at school and for snack at home - yellow marshmallow creme pies, and mysterious cosmic brownies, simple oatmeal creme pies and double Swiss Rolls.
    
10. Childhood feels like wind in my face - chasing a soccer ball down the field, swinging like a pendulum between sun and clouds, and zipping downhill on my bicycle wheels.

Tuesday's Ten: 10 Road Trip Memories

When I was younger my family traveled a bit more. I've only ever been on a plane once in my elementary years and I don't remember much of it. My family of seven used to pack into a car and take to the road to make our trips across state lines. Here are ten vague memories I have of our road trips.

1. Super-packing - I highly doubt that anyone could pack more efficiently than my parents. The amount of luggage and such that we packed into our car should not have been scientifically possible. I can remember my dad fastening a large grey bag to the roof of our car to afford us even more storage space.
    
2. The Radio - There were a number of familiar songs that would come on often and to this day I remember those songs and eyes on the road as we sang along. A few of my favorites were Drift Away, Underneath it All, In the Living Years, and Cruisin'.
    
3. The Candy Shop - Occasionally we'd stop by this vintage candy shop along a familiar route that sold old-style candy at a price reminiscent of simpler times. I have no idea where it was or if it is still around, but I so loved stopping there.
    
4. Sleep Singing - My dad handled most of the driving on our trips since my mother was not fond of driving and especially hated highways (she still does). When he grew tired at the wheel he would sing some strange version of the songs on the radio, or other songs that came to his mind. Honestly the resulting sound may not have qualified as singing, but it helped him to stay awake and it was familiar to me always.
    
5. Non-electronic Games -Before we had portable electronic games or worse, phones, we only had one another, our word puzzle books and a few brain games. We loved it all. One of my favorites was Brain Quest.
    
6. Books, books, books - Although reading in the car can sometimes make you carsick, I mastered the art of doing it. I got so much reading done on our road trips. In a family as big and as talkative as ours, quite time is a necessity during long hours on the road. The best silence you can have in such moments is that which accompanies reading.
    
7. Rest (stop) - There are two kinds of rest stops that I know of. One is the traditional kinds, where you pull off an exit and find a roadside parking or picnic area where you can stretch your legs, use rest rooms, get refreshments, etc. The second is the Georges kinds where you pull over on the side of the road, switch on your emergency lights, and say a prayer as you sorta-kinda sleep with one eye open.
    
8. The Sun - Sunrises and sunsets  are like roadside pictures, so beautiful to watch. Did you know the shades of the sky are quite different across state lines? I especially loved watching the sun peek up over and creep behind mountains.
    
9. Crossing Borders - The excitement of crossing borders never ends. It's kind of crazy how easy it is to be in a new state in a matter of seconds. It feels so wonderful to have that mark of progress after putting in hours on the road. I always picked up one of those state maps at rest stops to mark the cities and states we stopped in.
    
10. The End - One fantastic part of any road trip is the end. Reaching your destination is a welcome relief for legs in need of stretching and fathers tired of driving. It brings about a sense of accomplishment and the excitement of the beginning of whatever adventure you set out for.