Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Janet's Friendship Quilt - What Hump?

The definition of yin and yang can be thought of as complementary rather than opposing forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater that the assembled parts.  If you think of it in terms of my best friend Cheryl and I that would definitely apply.  If you are lucky, really really, lucky, maybe once in your lifetime you will have a friend like Cheryl.  We finish each other’s sentences. We can just look at each other and know what the other one is thinking. She'll say you remember that thing that time and we both know what “that” is.  Our conversations are circular not linear and that drives my husband nuts because he cannot follow what we are talking about or what is so funny. 

We met at work over the phone.  We worked in separate buildings, I was in accounting and she was in something to do with the computers department.  I called and said I had an “abbynormal” message on my console and she said back “What hump?”  The universe aligned and we found probably the only two people in Waco who knew the joke. We both love Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein and you will just have to watch the movie as it would take way too long to explain the joke.  That was almost twenty five years ago.  Since then we have been through everything from hell to high water.  She is always the first person there in a crisis and the last to leave until you are ok.  She is also the first one to agree to something fun and very odd that nobody else in their right mind would agree to.  When I typed that I could almost hear her saying, “Who said we are in our right minds.” 

The last few months have been awful at our house and at hers with surgeries, family losses, and her badly broken foot from trying a particularly difficult move on her stripper pole (she broke it at Jazzercise but if you run into anyone she knows go with the pole story).  So we talk on the phone, I can't drive and she is confined to the lift chair on her first floor.  We always say the same thing, if you need me call, I can't come at present but call anyway.  So Cheryl, you are my most beloved best friend.  Always remember that if you fall, I will pick you up.  After I finish laughing.

P.S.  The last line actually happened on a hiking trip with our husbands.  I was just about to tell Cheryl to slow down as the trail was steep and really slippery but was too late.  I'm ashamed to say all I could do was sit down and laugh, if she could have seen what it looked like from behind she would have known what was so funny.  Our husbands finally walked back to see if we had been eaten by a bear.  Ok, the only bears in Texas are at Baylor University but there were some really scary looking armadillos out there.  Hugs and kisses Cheryl.

11 comments:

  1. You are blessed to have found each other! Love your quilt and your writings about true friendship! Very graphic solution! Love the opposing black and white fabrics you found. They work perfectly!

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  2. What an amazing story. You are lucky to have each other!

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  3. Janet, I ditto what was said by the two group members above--what a blessing, how lucky you two are to have one another. And your account of your friendship is replete with your signature humor! Loved reading it, and loved looking at your stunning quilt. I also love that your quilt brings our first round of MM quilts "full circle," when you think of your quilt here and my first quilt! If you don't know what I mean, go to http://thematerialmavens.blogspot.com/2011/09/alices-quilt-asian-harmonies.html.

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  4. Janet, what a wonderful gift to have such a special friend in your life! I love your quilt. The design is so strong and the palette is perfect.

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  5. Janet your narratives are always such fun to read!! The quilt is great and I'd love to meet you and your friend, Cheryl. You sound like you always have fun!! Love the bold look of this one.

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  6. A great way to express the friendship you have with your friend, Cheryl. Sounds like the two of you are a perfect match. Also love the colors in your quilt.

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  7. O.K. I will confess. I had to go to the Google Gods to figure out the joke. What a special relationship.

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  8. Hi Janet ! Your quilt is really great (love the graphic design and colors), but for me, the show stopper is the story you wrote describing your friendship with Cheryl. How wonderful to have that truly incredible friendship that endures time and all the happenings we encounter through our lives. Thanks for sharing Cheryl with all of us !

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  9. Janet - you are a born story teller - what a fabulous friendship you described. I understand the non-linear conversations. My BFF met at work and we talk for hours and get back to the part we didn't finish at the beginning. I love the yin yang as a reflection of the completeness one has when with the matching other

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  10. Wonderful story. Great graphic quilt! Love the red, black, and white. Strong colors like your friendship. Love is a circle that never ends.

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  11. Your bold graphic design in such strong colors perfectly mirrors your friendship with Cheryl. Great narrative, especially your hiking story! Thank you for sharing.

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