Moments with LuLa

LuLa is code for my friend Laura.  She is one of my favorite people in the entire world and I miss her ass being my next door neighbor every damn day.  It's pretty funny to think that we were actually neighbors for only about 2 years, I think, and she has NOT been my neighbor for more like 15 years.  But I will always put her in that best friend/best neighbor category.

I love her so much I'm even ok with the not so great picture of the two of us where she is holding her cigarette (WHICH I HATE!) behind her for our photo.  Look at my double chin!  Look at my long scraggly hair.  But look at those grins...those grins are totally what happen when we are together.

LuLa never comments on this blog...but she reads it religiously.  And I know that because on the rare occasions we do manage to hook up by phone or even more rarely in person, she references every single post.  I mean, she remembers stuff I have totally forgotten I wrote.  And she does it in this stream of consciousness kind of way that leaves me breathless.

For Example...on a call just this week....

"Loved your home office. Those guitars look great. I love how you hung Selma's paintings. And my bathroom design is really coming along.  I decided to just use the one neutral color on the ceiling and the walls and I was like, oh crap I paid good money for this other gallon of paint, but you know it really was too much color for what I wanted.  I totally get what you mean about the cable company and the tv.  I totally had to call Bullshit the other day when they gave me the 'FREE' new box and now I have a worse picture than before the new box AND they are charging me like $7.95 a month for it.  I'm heading to Paris next week, to Carolina right after that, and I really want to talk more about your Venice plans.  I owe you money for the Cape trip, right?  I'm going to help Nana unpack at the house because that is the house that MAN and I will be staying at when we are visiting and it's only fair.  She'll need help with boxes and window treatments and stuff.  Nana fell last week and really banged her head. I'm glad SISTER is there to help her out, but I really feel guilty not being there. How is your Uncle doing? His PT going well?  So tell me about your job.  How is merger going?  You have a lot going on right?  Me too.  Someone I work with quit and I've got so many new things to do and all this time off I'm taking...."

And imagine not a breath between sentences...or paragraphs.

Don't get me wrong.  These calls are my total joy in life.  But it cracks me up that after an hour on the phone, I come back to sit with Hubby and he's like, "What's new with LuLa??" and I seem to cover it in about 2 minutes.  "You talked for an hour and that's all you've got?" 

Well no.

But it's all I've retained.

LuLa is the BEST wingwoman too.  I used to take her to every social event I was invited to because without her I would shyly walk in and sit to the side and watch people gathering and talking...maybe I'd gravitate and hold on fast to the one person I might know well. LuLa would walk in, take command of the room, know everyone, everyone's story, and everyone's brother and his story by 1 hour in.  Then 6 months later she would be like, "How's Joe's mother doing? Did her hip surgery work out? and Did Janine's brother ever marry the nanny? How about Sue's diet, how is that going?  Seemed crazy to me that she was only eating grapefruit, but she said she'd never felt better.  And Alice's ingrown toenail?"  I'm not kidding.  Meanwhile these people were supposed to be my social circle and I don't even know who she was talking about.  If ever I get up the guts to meet some Bloggy friends, I'm totally flying her in.  Don't worry, it won't be awkward.  She will know every post on your site, I promise.

And don't get me started about LuLa and her MAN.  Suffice it to say, this has been a long strange trip and I'm just happy they seem to be happy in their new status and place. 

So we're trying to convince LuLa (and her MAN) to join us in Venice.  In fact, I want her so much as my wingwoman that I'm considering changing the dates of our trip.  Strolling arm and arm with my best friend/best neighbor through the streets of Venice and Florence sounds like a glorious once in a lifetime opportunity.  Of course the men can come too.  I mean we love each other, but we need to make googly eyes in the gondolas at the men in our lives.  Then leave them behind to go arm and arm on to the museums, shops, sites, and so forth.

Sounds like a plan.

{LuLa I hope you are laughing as you read this....I'm sure we'll talk about it - breathlessly - soon}