Boise and My Best Friend

I write this as we are on the last leg of our journey.

We arrived in Boise, ID to the open arms and home of Julia and Tom Bennett. Julia and I picked up immediately where we left off by snuggling, sharing a bottle of wine and watching Law and Order. This was our Sunday night ritual for all the years we were neighbors and besties in Sioux Falls. She is my true Soul Sistah.

The morning included a breakfast that a well intentioned Tom attempted, but after a mishap with the hash browns, Teake took over.  Tom makes a much better barista. Their  kitchen window has a beautiful view of the mountains. A slow morning around a table with people I love full of rich conversation and delicious scrambled hash is the perfect way to begin a day.

Teake and Tom headed to a sports bar to catch football. As Julia is now officially back into the business of higher education after a 2 year reprieve, she needed to do a little clothes shopping. When she said we were going to the mall, I immediately got dry mouth and started to sweat. I do not do malls. I haven't been in the Sioux Falls Empire Mall in years. It is all too much of the same thing. The clothes all look alike; the women all seem to have that haircut that is longer in the front but pointy and short in the back; the lighting makes everyone look jaundiced; it is a blur of banality. So, I suggested we stop at a thrift store on our way.

I love thrift. In a thrift store you get to create your style not have The
Gap or Macy's tell you what it is. For $65 Julia got 1 dress, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of boots, 2 sweaters, pjs and some housing decorative items. Some of it high end designs and all of it super cute. As I am on the road and need to travel light, I bought Teake a couple shirts. The real deal was that by the time we were done, Jules was too tired to go to the mall.

We met up with Teake, Tom and Marie, a former student of mine and a dear friend to both the Bartling and Bennett Families. It was a fun afternoon of food and football. We ended day helping Julia unpack their art.  They have been in their new home since June and have been busy making it theirs with flooring and paint. It is a great mid-century home with many cool quirks, and since quirky would also describe Julia, it is perfect for them.

It was hard to leave her. Her absence has been some of the reason that I have felt lost these last few years. She is my greatest confidant, my cheerleader, my teacher, my witch doctor, my business partner and my best friend.