Happy Birthday, Lilli

I called Lilli today. Lilli was a tomboy that lived just kitty-corner from my home when we were growing up. We went to the same primary school and the same highschool, and grew to be good friends over the years. So much so that we have a tradition of calling eachother on our birthdays. Lilli is 33 days older than I am, and I've always gotten a kick out of calling her the "older woman". When I called her last year, she wasn't home, so I left a message on her machine. Today, I got through to her in person, and she confided that the message I left for her had remained on her machine for over 6 months - as a reminder of our friendship.

I hardly ever see her... she and her husband and family live in a different city, and I think it's been over ten years since I saw her last. Still, she sounds just like the Lilli I remember as a boy, and I still see in my mind's eye the young girl who went nearly two years without saying a word to me in response to my accepting her dare to do something ungentlemanly (I think I was about 12 or 13 at the time). So today, some 40 years later, we celebrate our continued friendship.

I think tomorrow I'll leave a message on her machine, to keep her company for the next six months.