Mayfly

About 7 years ago (I think), I was working downtown at a little company that handles artwork- crating, shipping, framing, storage- that sort of thing. We were hiring an office assistant and we had two candidates. One was a young lady, a former nanny, who had recently returned to the Midwest from the East coast. The other was Stephanie. My boss and I held multiple interviews with these two women and discussed them. Now, Stephanie will tell you I didn't like her, but I did. She was a little shy, an artist with museum experience, and she had this great voice. It was a bit high pitched with an ever-so-slight twinge of a southern accent now and then. But she seemed a little spacey. I was feeling really swamped at the time with my work load, and I needed someone who was on the ball to help me out, so I actually voted for the other girl. Gasp! What if we would have given her the job?! I'm so sorry, Foff. What was I thinking?!

In the seven years since I met Stephanie (lovingly named Foffie by the children in her life) she has become one of my best friends in the world. She is smart, sweet, incredibly creative, caring and so much fun. And yes, she's a little spacey- she's just herself. She's one of my true soul mates. Not the romantic kind of soul mate, but the I-would-lay-down-on-the-tracks-to-block-the-train-for-you kind. I can't imagine not having her in my life.

She lives in Columbia, MO now, and she came to visit this weekend and it was so good to see her. J ADORES her. "Foffie this, Foffie that...when is Foffie coming back? " Here's Foffie modeling the apron I made her:

The fabric is very funny. I have had it for years and it has always been intended for her. An apron seemed so appropriate for the theme; it says "How to Get a Husband" and has all these antiquated man-catching tips on it including: show him you adore children, don't scold him if he takes a drink, cook special dishes for him, etc.

Two of my favorites:

You see, Stephanie seems to always be hunting for a man. She's had several long term boyfriends during our years together, but she's still not found The One. Melanie, my other good friend who has also come to love Foffie, and I were teasing her about it Friday night. The truth is I don't ever want her to settle for less than The One. The Best One. And I'm confident she'll find him. And if she doesn't, so be it. Then she won't need him. It would mean one less person to share her with anyway! Wink!