Foundation and Friendships

I was right! Foundation is the first step. That seems pretty obvious, but I was pretty proud of myself anyway.

The ladies reading this probably assume that I am talking about makeup. The men may think that I was building something. You are both correct. I was building something — courage. The courage to do Erica’s makeup without really messing up. It takes a lot of trust to have someone approach your eye with a pencil. Erica trusted me. I did not.

Erica was going out with her friends. It was Friday night and the annual pickelball banquet. She hasn’t played for four years, but her friends still invite her as if she’s been at every match. And they insisted that she go out with them and I stay out of it. Meaning, I am not there to help her out of the car. Not there to help her find her words or finish her sentences. Not there to catch her if she falls.

It’s fair to say that we both had hesitation. The reasons why are many. Some are deeper, like Erica not wanting to be the center of attention. Or the opposite, being present, but left out. Some hesitation is practical, like knowing how and when to react to Erica’s symptoms. It was only a week ago when we were out with another friend, Angie, a high school/college friend who came to visit from North Carolina, that we had to abruptly leave a restaurant when Erica fell ill just as the food was delivered to the table.

We fought the temptation to give in to comfort and just order pizza and a movie, which has been our Friday routine for 20 years. This meant that I would be applying lip liner and Erica would be taking a big step forward. Nearly four hours later, Erica returned from their dinner, energized and glowing. I’d like to take credit for the glow, but I know that makeup wears off, foundational friendships do not.

This post not only celebrates the wonderful evening Erica had with her pickleball friends, but is also a cheer to the friends that have have been a foundation through this journey. I can never list you all and don’t mean to leave any out. But just in the past few weeks, visits from Terra, Annette, Susan and Angie, shopping with Amy, time and meals from our church small group… the list goes on and so does our appreciation.