The one with Puppy Paws inspiration

Fri, Sep 12 2008 by Vanessa.

If I’ve said it once I’ll say it a million more times and then once more for good measure.  All the best things in life, including pure inspiration, come from Colorado.  I am biased, I know.  However it’s true.  During my last trip to CO I encountered a fabulous shade of paint called Desert Castle.  Imagine a creamy mocha like color.  Very neutral yet it really forces the white baseboards and door trim to pop off the wall.  It’s a soothing color and of course, being a neutral, really “goes” with everything.  So to Desert Castle … welcome to your newest home!  One problem.  I can’t find a paint chip called Desert Castle.  Perusing other similar shades of paint chip I managed to come across a really close match (at least I think it is based on what I can remember of the famous Desert Castle) called Puppy Paws.  OK, Universe.  I hear you.  Puppy Paws it is.  Could any other color really truly fit in our house?  Puppy Paws.  What a great name for the new shade of paint which will, soon enough, cover our now stark-white walls.

My best friend in the entire world introduced me to Desert Castle.  This is not a shocking fact, seeing as how she manages to get everything in life just right.  She is such an amazing person and another reminder of how full my life has always been.  I find the term “best friend” lacking in this case though.  She’s not a sister in terms of biological definition.  Truly, I find it hard to believe that if I did have a sister we would be any closer than my friend and I.  I may be completely off my rocker here but I think we might actually be closer than sisters simply because we don’t “have” to be close like sisters do.  We make the CHOICE to love each other.  We don’t “have” to love each other.  Our relationship exists because we both CHOOSE for it to exist.  At any moment either one of us could say “That’s it.”  No more friendship.  Maybe even more common, we just get too busy with life and let the friendship slowly dissolve.  No more friendship.  However, no matter what happens in life we manage to keep each other nearby.  Of course, a good smorgasbord including Fritos Scoops and queso dip, brownies, crab cheese wontons, ice cream, Chinese food and now pesto, basil, cream cheese dip and veggies will keep up forever bound.  :)  I also believe that we watch out for each other, despite the miles between us.  Not a single doubt exists in my mind  that if either of us had an emergency the other would be sitting on the next available plane.  I know with 100% certainty that she and I will share the rest of our lives together, as fantastic friends, always creating fun wherever we are.  I know this like I’ve never known another friendship.  My friend is so unique and so special to me.  Words are just not enough.  So, how do I know that my friend and I will forever be friends?  She’s my female version of John.  The first time she whapped me upside the head and said, “Don’t you see, John and I are exactly alike expect I’m a girl and he’s a boy.”  I almost fell over.  Since then, I’ve openly and repeatedly said, “You and John.”  They really are so incredibly alike.  Just like I’ve never questioned my decision to marry John, I’ve never questioned my friendship with my best friend.

The saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” is a reminder I give myself often and have recited over and over the last 8 - 10 years.  Especially when life deals me a situation that seems hopeless, I remind myself that my past is full of disappointments and rough times but each and every one of those disappointments and rough times wound up bringing something to my life that I am forever thankful for.  You gotta take the good with the bad!  Back in 1995 and 1996 when selecting a college consumed most of my energy, I felt a bit of heartbreak when Johns Hopkins placed me on their wait list.  Had I received an acceptance letter, I’m pretty sure my bags would have been packed and shipped to Maryland, immediately.  Thankfully, the Universe brought this disappointment into my life so that I would send my bags to Golden, CO instead.  It was at Colorado School of Mines that I met my best friend and I still maintain that it was worth going through the depths of hell (that’s what my 4 years at Mines felt like most of the time) to find my angel … my best friend.   We have endured a lot together, including a separation of many miles for most of our friendship, but I’ve never felt like I was that far from her.  I think that says a lot.

So again, here’s to Section 2 where I will not put my “responsibilities” before my friend.  I will never ever go an entire year and a half without seeing her.  She’s too precious to me and too important to neglect.  This is my written vow.  Never again will I wait so long to spend time with one of the most important people in my life.   Never.

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