Thursday, December 20, 2012

My Best Friend

Ruth's remembrance of her best friend, Carla.

It was friends at first sight when I met Carla at freshman orientation.  Who knew that a random meeting would lead to such a meaningful friendship?  We had an unspoken connection from the start.

Carla and I had a lot in common right from the start.  Peanut butter was part of our daily diet, along with trash magazines and Lifetime movies.  As our friendship grew, Puma sneakers became a must have and singing obnoxiously in the car was a constant activity.  We even fulfilled our adventurous side by traveling to South Africa together.  Carla was the kind of friend where you could have a serious conversation about school politics one minute and the next minute have a "serious" conversation about the latest People magazine.  She made you want to be around her.

We also shared a love of children.  Carla had a beautiful and unique way of connecting with and teaching children.  More recently, we shared a love for my son Graham, her godson.  Before he was born I told her she was his second mom.  And immediately after his birth, she was the person I called after my Mom ad Dad.  Carla and Graham had their own magical connection.  It was beautiful to watch.  Graham, no matter how cranky he was (and boy was he cranky the first five months) gave Carla, the baby whisperer, smiles and hugs each and every time he saw her.  It made my heart smile seeing them together.

Carla mentioned to me that she was thinking of getting a hummingbird tattoo, which is fitting because the hummingbird's continuous wing beats make the symbol for infinity.  Carla's influence on all of us will continue forever.

Ruth then read: The Very Hungry Caterpiller by Eric Carle

A special thank you to Ruth and her family for all their love, support and remembrance.
Posted by Nick and Cathy