The year was 1994. I was a sophmore in high school. It was a Friday night and all the HS kids in town were hanging out at the trendiest of spots...a parking lot across from the school that used to be for a K-Mart or something like that. This girl starts chatting me up and she has the most distinctive high-pitched voice (and laugh!) but she's sweet, and funny and I like her. We exchange numbers and agree to do lunch soon, I even remember her phone number as she told it to me that night - 303- "o nine-hundred". And thus began a friendship that has lasted, well, 14 years now!
That girl was my friend Wendy. Through the years she and I have fallen in and out of touch, the way long distance friends do, but we have always loved each other and been there for each other through the good and the not-so-good times. She spent the night with me a few times in my apartment when I was going through my divorce several years ago. She celebrated with me when I found love again and has always been honest with me - even when I didn't like it. I have missed her over this last year especially.
Yesterday we got a chance to catch up. Her voice isn't as high-pitched anymore, but that laugh is still the same, and I love it! I am so proud of her and I'm proud to call her my friend. Wendy has been very successful in her career and is great at what she does. She's remained unmarried and has focused on what she wanted to accomplish before settling down to have a family, and I admire this about her.
Now, Wendy is making a career move. She is leaving her lucrative job in outside sales and going into the non-profit sector. She is taking a position with the North Texas Food Bank. It is such a great organization and I know she will do a great job of raising awareness about hungery families in DFW. Hearing her talk about it was inspirational and heart-breaking at the same time. To know there are little kids all over the metroplex who have to steal food from school on Friday so they'll have something to eat over the weekend is very sobering for those of us who never worry about having enough to eat. Please check out the website for the North Texas Food Bank and consider how you can help.
Love you Wendy...and I hope to see you soon!
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