Friends support Friends in Ohio

     Friendship is a gift. You have some friends you interact with daily, some monthly, some yearly...some you can go years between visits and nothing has changed. How do you say goodbye? It isn't necessarily a forever farewell, but life moves so fast that there are no guarantees. I am a big believer in telling people how you feel, and how much they truly mean to you. It's me. I was born this way. Emotion and I - wrapped together like a candy cane, never the two shall part. I have said goodbye to people over the course of my *ahem* years and it always comes back to this. I leave those who mean a lot to me with memories shared. 

     Allison Brannan, I am certainly going to miss you. I know that for Allison to join me on a big adventure was a lot for her. The adventure was a BIG adventure. I wanted to go to Carbondale, IL to see a Dungeons and Dragons park that I had read about. When I mentioned it, Allison was as geek thrilled as I was to see it. I knew this was a drive that I could not do alone in one day, but maybe with someone along? Doable. We left about 7am that day and returned at about 10:30 pm. That's a WHOLE lot of driving in one day, folks. The coolest part was getting to know Allison better. Lots of life conversations happened that day. We also stopped and saw the town that the creator of Popeye was from - and there were statues everywhere in the town. We had the most AMAZING sliders and I had a deliciously decadent alcoholic milkshake that day as well. However, the memory that stands out for the day has to be the unfortunate meeting of my passenger mirror with the evil orange barrel of hell. Woke Allison and I right up, and was SO close to home without incident. Dammit anyway.

     I will also remember fondly the times spent at the Olympic with Rosa and Allison. Nice getting together with the gals, sippin' some cocktails, eating a bit of delicious food - good times. There was also the Morgan, Angie and Allison adventure to the Galos Cave Spa and Myopic books, the Pabst mansion with the random deliciousness of sushi...these are the memories of our friendship, Allison, that I hope you take with you as you journey to Ohio. If you are broken, I believe that you will find your way back to being the best person you can be. 


     My advice to you? Take risks. Live every day like it was your last day on Earth. Don't forget the people who love and care about you, as you may think there are few - but in truth, there are oh so many. This is the beginning of a grand adventure. Do something you are afraid to do. Learn new things. Embrace new friends. Read much and often. Stretch your comfort zone and fly, Allison. You've got it in you. I know you do. Being your friend is an honor and a privilege. This isn't goodbye.  I have a feeling that we shall see each other again. Too many adventures yet for it to be goodbye.

     Know that you are loved and you will be missed immensely. Farewell for now, my dear friend.

Until we meet again,
Angie