Belated Birthday Surprise

I met my dear friend, Jenissa, for coffee the other day. She and I have been best friends for almost as long as I can remember (we met when I was three or four). We were neighbors, we grew up together. I hadn't seen her since before my birthday, she surprised me with a gift. A beautifully handmade journal!

She made everything herself from scratch: added the stamp, the lace, even the binding! Isn't it lovely? The wrapping paper was handmade as well. I love homemade gifts! I spent several minutes just admiring its beauty. 

This is us when we were about seven and nine, with matching dresses of course! Ah, so many years ago! We have shared several tears, smiles, dreams, and laughter over the years. How grateful I am to still hold a close friendship with her! She has had a monumental impact on my life. I would definitely not be the person I am today without her influence. 

“You can go through life and make new friends every year - every month practically - but there was never any substitute for those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years. Those are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel.”
― Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

“The best mirror is an old friend.”
― George Herbert

Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.”
― Charles Lamb, The Life, Letters and Writings of Charles Lamb

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

― William Shakespeare

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

All for now, 

{dm}