It is so nice to see dear friends. Makes for a special day. My friend Cynthia came for breakfast Tuesday morning. I missed her birthday because she was back east visiting her mom. We have known each other since William was in kindergarten almost 25-years ago. She has two great kids – one was on the original team for the iPhone at Apple after Stanford and the other was just awarded his PhD at Cornell University after MIT. She showed me the photos of ceremony. Both sons are very funny, very nice adults.
She and I shared a job at William’s school then I went to work at the school where I got sick. I heard they were interviewing for an aide in the 6th grade and I highly encouraged her to apply. They taught a yearly unit on Greece and I knew that she liked to read and speak Greek. A perfect fit. Her oldest son had just started at the school and I was carpooling with him. She had planned to volunteer her time at the school anyway, so she applied for the job and got it.
Side story – Her oldest son was not chatty in the morning during our carpooling days, so I would play tapes including one my dad made of Overtures from many musicals. One was Ethel Merman singing, “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” He started to laugh and asked who was singing. For months, we both did Ethel Merman impersonations going to school. I giggle just in reliving the memory.
As a very bright woman, Cynthia threw herself into learning about gifted children and eventually worked her way up into teaching. Years later, the school went through a huge upheaval – the head of the Middle School was accused of abusing children, the Head refused to fire him, the owner refused to fire the Head then eventually, the entire Middle School staff quit, the Head was fired by the board and the board fired the owner – and Cynthia was hired as the new Head of the Middle School. She beat me by a few years. After I was appointed Head of the music program, she looked at me and said, “Well, we finally made it to the top. Took us both longer than we thought!” We had been bothered by how some structures were not in place at the school and saw the need to make it a bit more organized when we had arrived years earlier.
While Head of the Middle School, she made the decision to move the music department from its beautiful room with 4 balconies just outside the library in the mansion to the portable up in the Middle School complex. They wanted to have more of an open campus and not two separate and distinct ones – Lower and Middle schools. Since all the kids took music classes, it would bring the entire student body up to the Middle School campus. Because I got sick working in the portable, she feels very guilty about moving me into it. I had to tell her that I no way blamed her for my illness.
Cynthia was a runner for years. She is preparing for her hip replacement at my university hospital in early September. She is in great shape and should do well. As I work out in the other rehab, I talk to many people who have had hip or knee replacements. Every hip replacement person says they wish they had it done sooner. No regrets. I can’t say that of the people with knee replacements. There always seems to be pain afterwards.
So, she arrived at 9:30, we had tea and chatted then I made some eggs with goat cheese and a mango smoothie. I was going to leave for the rehab class at 11:30, glanced at my watch at one point and was shocked that it was 1:00! Our breakfast lasted until Michael arrived home. She left around 4:30. What a breakfast! I don't think there was a pause in the conversation.
Sometimes I get so caught up in my routine that I need an extended visit with a dear friend to remind me that I am bless to have so many wonderful people in my life.
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