REMEMBERING...

We celebrate birthdays in my family.

We celebrate with cake.

We like cake.

Last week I lost a dear friend.

It was unexpected.

Today is her birthday... so we will celebrate.

I wasn't Becky's friend first. 

I met her son while moonlighting on the weekends early in my teaching career.

(Yes, teachers often work two jobs.)

We became fast friends because of a shared love for the Dodgers among other things.

And we became friends.

Becky and her friend, now mine too, Susan, were my first baseball buddies.

You can't imagine how excited this life-long Dodger fan was to find people that understood what it meant to love a team! 

They didn't laugh when I wanted to spend part of my Milken Award on a season ticket seat (yes, 1 seat), at Chavez Ravine. 

No, they didn't laugh because they bought the season seat next to me!

They were my Dodger Stadium mentors and became much more.

Becky was one of the first people who congratulated me when I adopted.

She bought Daniel his first basketball set.

And was brave enough to take a 4-year-old to his first fancy lunch Downtown.

Becky taught me it was okay to spend money on good shoes.

We shared the same shoe size. 

I inherited a huge bag of shoes when her feet grew from knee surgery.

She introduced me to Clarks, which is now my favorite brand

and told me that you can buy inexpensive play clothes for kids,

but they should always have a good pair of shoes on their feet... I listened.

Becky took me to my first and only Lakers basketball game. It was courtside.

She gave me a beautiful bracelet once.

I wear it every time I have to dress professionally. 

It makes me feel grown up.

Becky moved to the east coast to be near her beloved son and grandkids years back. But every now and then we would catch up.  I would always share my frustration with our Dodgers, and could complain about how crazy the boys were and the challenges of being a single mom. She understood. 

I always knew I could get an update on her son and grandkids. 

They were her light, her reason for being.

I could "see" her beaming from pride when she spoke or wrote about them. 

Susan and I would miss her when we went to ball games, 

but she was where she belonged, close to them.

Today is her birthday... so I will celebrate her.

With cake... and a Dodger game.