My Friend…

I have a friend that I just know you will like. Her name is Maureen, but sometimes you’ll feel like calling her Momo. How can I be so sure that you will like her when in this case “you” is not actually one person, but a collection of individuals? Well, I’m sure that each individual “you” will like her because she is almost impossible not to like. She is the kind of person that just about everyone likes. She’s probably pissed someone off or rubbed someone else the wrong way, but I’d venture to say those two people are just difficult to please.

You might not know this about me, but people in social situations make me uncomfortable. It’s about me being insecure. Somehow when I’m around Maureen I never feel uncomfortable, she makes me feel at ease. I think she makes everyone feel comfortable. I have a theory on how she manages to make others feel comfortable.

Parts of it are her smile, her warmth, her friendliness, but her real secret weapon is that she seems to be comfortable with herself. She wears her body, intellect, wit, humor, and personality unselfconsciously. She gives you permission to do the same. She’s only human and I’m sure that she has the same insecurities that we all do, but she does not project them on to you. Her insecurities are never what you notice about her. What you notice about her is her light and her encouragement to let your own light shine.

Some of my favorite things about her are…

• her smile and how it makes her eyes twinkle
• the way she dances (White girl can dance and then some!)
• her red velvet cake
• her Aunt Mame’s chocolate cake (I like cake.)
• her sense of adventure
• her willingness to take risks in life
• the way she embraces change [change in life, not spare change (she’s  not a tightwad)]

Now here is the part where I speak directly to Maureen:

Maureen,

I am so glad that the Universe conspired to make our paths cross time and time again, so that a friendship evolved slowly and naturally. You are one of my favorite people to share a meal with even if it involves eating my weight in bacon. Thank you for not only being a friend to me, but a loving friend to my entire family. It does not go unnoticed that both of my daughters took to you instantly. Children know.  Unkown Papi knows too.

You are loved,

Not-so-Unknown-to-you Mami

I hope you all have a friend like Maureen because she reminds me of the following quote (especially the part in bold) just by being herself.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”   -Marianne Williamson

This post is part of a series celebrating friendship. If you missed what Maureen had to say about me, you can read it here. Come back next week on Monday and Tuesday for more. Most importantly don’t forget to honor your friends.