The Difference in an Acquaintance and a Friend (BFF)

My BFF Anne

During my 60 years I've had friends.  I'm not talking acquaintances, here.  I'm talking sure enough, finish your sentences, tell you the truth no matter what, has your back friends.  Some people, like my sister, have a large circle of friends and they have been friends all the  back to elementary school.  Some people are more like me and have more acquaintances than close or as they say today a BFF (Best Friend Forever).  


My mother always said that she didn't have time for friends.  She acted like she couldn't be bothered with the responsibility of cultivating a friendship or the high maintenance of keeping a friend.  She always claimed to have a lot of acquaintances.  People she knew and people that knew her.  People that would speak if  she met them in a store or bumped into them at a restaurant.  There would be cordial chitchat, but nothing that could be mistaken for personal or really familiar with her or our family.  Just polite chitchat.

This is when you need BFF love!

I can remember in high school thinking that I didn't want to be close friends with girls.  They gossiped, giggled too much and were flighty.  All that even though I was a girl.  I thought boys were better friends.  They didn't hold grudges, they would tell it more as it was and they had a sense of humor.  I liked the way boys weren't petty.  I guess you could say that I had a lot of acquaintances in high school.  I wasn't girlie enough, though.  I remember thinking that I must look like a small elephant clopping across the room when other girls seemed to be so graceful and would just glide.  I couldn't figure out how I was cheated out of the feminine and delicate gene.  Little did I know until I grew up and talked to other girls from my age in school when they confessed feeling the same way.  Shocking!  We all had our insecurities.


Now that I'm middle aged.  That isn't so unless I end up living to be 120.  I guess I'm old, now.  I can look back and remember some great friendships.  Seems each friendship came in a time that was needed by me or my friend.  Some friendships burned out when there wasn't a need for what that friendship was giving.  Some got lost across miles of distance.  Then there are new friendships.  I am lucky to have a BFF that finishes my sentences, has my back, giggles with me over nothing in particular.  She is always ready for fun, an adventure and a spur of the moment shopping spree.  I love her like a sister.  I never want to lose her.  I'd give her a kidney.
Better yet, she would give me a kidney and then take care of me during recovery.

Our hubbies napping together!  Party Animals

Life would be so lonely and boring without my BFF.   I am her family and she is mine.  We have adopted each other.  Our husbands really like each other and are best buds.  I can curl up on her den floor and take a nap.  She has a key to my house.  I can tell her anything and I know she will still love me.  We are both chubby and swear we will do something about it.  Typically we talk about it over Chips and wine.  

Anne and Rob
Our BFFS

Yep, she is worth investing my time to build our relationship.  Acquaintances sure they are nice, but a BFF, that is special.

Why My Marriage is so Wonderful

Lyle and I have been married 13 years.  That isn't a very long time in the big scheme of things, but in today's world, on the other hand, 13 years can be described as a huge success story.  I believe it's the latter.  I want to explain why I think our marriage is successful.

Lyle and I were older when we got married.  We both had been married before and had a child from those marriages.  We understood where we had gone wrong in our other marriages.  We took the time to actually discuss our previous marriages and what we contributed that was not good.  We talked openly about what we discovered about ourselves and what we really wanted in a relationship.

Our discussions revealed that we wanted to be free to have opinions and feelings that didn't necessarily always match our mate's.  We agreed that we wanted to feel valued and respected. Neither of us ever wanted to feel that we had to hide our feelings from the other.  We understood that even though we love each other deeply, that we are still individuals with our own particular needs and quirks.

Now all that sounds like it was very dramatic.  Of course, these things were said during normal conversation and sometimes over drinks.  Our love for each other just deepens with each passing year.  We can't wait to see each other at the end of the day.  That doesn't mean that we don't enjoy doing our own thing.  We do.  I spend time with my BFF, Anne.  We shop and go out to eat.  We giggle and act like silly girls.  Lyle enjoys going to the movies with his BFF, Rob and playing golf and going fishing with his buddies and he loves going to the Nascar races.  We also love doing a lot of things together.  We golf, fish, dog shows and love dinners out.

Lyle is sweet, patient and kind.  He's math whiz and can make anything out of wood or metal.  I can tell, he just wants to make me happy.  He takes great care to do many things for me.  He cooks a lot.  I have Lupus and he goes out of his way to make sure I am not struggling with lifting, bending and opening stuff.

I have a huge sense of humor and can tell a good story or joke.  Poor Lyle just doesn't have any comedic timing.  We make fun of him.  He makes fun of me about forgetting things.  He swears that he won't spend any money on nursing homes.  He is going to drop me off at the mall every morning.  He says what better and its free.  The mall is heated and cooled.  It has bathrooms conveniently located.  Has a nice variety of food at the food court and lots of people to talk to.  He says I can find a good place to sit in a comfy chair.
Cheaper and more fun for me.  See, he's always thinking of my happiness.  LOL

We love each other.  We love each other.  We love each other.  I simply adore him!

Happy Father's Day to My Wonderful Dad

 James H. Strickland  This is favorite picture of my Dad and me.  To me he was the biggest and strongest man alive.  He had the biggest hands that seemed to engulf mine and make me feel tiny.    My Dad taught me some of the most important things to me.  He taught me how to be quiet in a boat when we were fishing.  He wouldn't pamper me.  He made me learn to bait my hook, take my fish off and how to clean it.  He gave me an appreciation for camping and boating.  He explained sports to me and I have been a lifelong sports fan.  I learned to listen to the birds and identify them from their whistles and songs.  I am really grateful to my Dad for teaching me about the birds.  He believed that his daughters should know how to use all the common hand tools.  He made us self-reliant.  

My Dad had a great sense of humor and a quick wit.  He could come up with something funny to say about most anything.  Some of my favorite Dad sayings are:  Grinning like a Jackass eating saw briars......The things you see first thing in the morning when you don't have a loaded gun.......The first time I saw your head I knew you were going to have trouble with it.  I could sit here and explain what each one means, but I won't. Those that know me, just ask.  If you really need to know, send me a comment.

My Dad passed away five years ago and there hasn't been a day go by that I have not thought about him.  He was not a perfect man.  He was the best man he could be.  He had work ethic and he was a good friend.  He was charitable.  He taught his daughters that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  He was a good husband to my mother for 55 years.  

I know he is looking down on me and watching over me.  I am certain that he loves me and is happy with how I turned out.  I wish I could spend Father's Day with him.  Just the two of us. Maybe in a boat fishing.  Not saying anything.  Just being together.  That's all each of us ever needed.

Our Life with Dogs

I don't understand how anyone can live without the love and loyalty of a dog.  Our family currently has three dogs or Bitches as they are actually called in the Professional Dog world.

Chloe is a sweet 13 year old Cardigan Welsh Corgi.  She has been a faithful companion since she was four months old.  She has slowed down and prefers to find a quiet spot by our feet and watch the younger dogs play.  She still occasionally fetches the ball, but she only makes a couple of trips back  and forth then lays back down to relax.  She just wants to show that she still has   her talent.  Her coat used to be full and lush, but now she looks old and her face is white.  She can still spot a squirrel and make a sprint for it.  That is her favorite thing to do.

Lola (she was a show girl!) is a three year old collie/lab mix.  As you can see from the picture, she is mostly collie.  She is the constant companion to our nephew, Zachary.  They take two long walks a day and share lots of hugs and fun.  She is a very sweet and quiet friend.  She loves to carry her bone around the house and yard.  She is more of a service dog to Zach.  She brings a  new level of confidence to Zach and helps to keep him active and social.  She doesn't care that he is Autistic.

Abby (Daybreak's Classically Chic) is our youngest member.  She is eleven months old and is working toward her American and Canadian Conformation Championship.  She is our clown and full of fun.  She is in love with Lyle, my husband.  She enjoys following her nose, killing the squeakers in her toys and going to the shows were she can strut her stuff.  

Recently, I re-homed our sweet Jazzy, a mini smooth black/tan dachshund.  She has gone to live with Heather,  Madi, Tyler and Base.  I know she is enjoying being top dog and playing with her new cat buddy, Blizzard.  Thanks Dowell family for loving Jazzy.

Heather started a chain reaction and I'm being blamed for the whole thing.  She took Jazzy to work one day and Jane decided she had to have a mini dachshund.  I put her in touch with a breeder friend of mine and now she is getting not one but TWO puppies.  She is getting a mini red smooth and she is waiting for a mini cream longhair.  And if that wasn't enough, Angela wants a mini cream longhair, now, too.  Just goes to show, when  it comes to my friends, they have NO WILLPOWER!  LOL