friends

Old Friends, Good Friends

For fourteen years, I taught kindergarten and second grade at St. Charles Borromeo School. Today I stopped in for lunch and the chance to see my teaching colleagues. Of course, in the process, I saw children, parents, custodial help, secretarial staff and my principal–all dear friends.

As I looked around, I was reminded of the hard work of so many people, all of them determined to give children the best chance for success. These teachers deserve credit for my success as a writer, too. Their encouragement, their editing, their willingness to read my early work, their pats on the back and their smiles and hugs over many years show me that I matter to them. And it’s circular. Because of them, it matters to me to do my best for children.

One Step at a Time

Every Saturday morning, three good friends and I take a long walk. We talk and solve the problems of the world, we share each other’s hopes and dreams and we laugh ourselves silly. But most of all, we’re there for one another–in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. We listen as we put one foot in front of the other.

Off to the ballgame!

Good friends, free tickets and hopefully, a winning hometown team. The weather is fine and my sweetheart will be seated beside me. Does it get better than that?