There she is..

Its 10 pm on a Wednesday night – the end of an extra busy work day. The living room is a minefield of toys. All counter space is swamped with mail or books. There is an open garam masala box in the kitchen, still waiting to be transferred to its container. You’re reading book#4 for the girls – the last before they’ll agree to go to sleep. Post that, you plan on working and then working out. You’re wearing a tattered old sweater that still has a dal stain from the afternoon. In the back of your mind, you’re thinking about a strange text you received from a friend. Someone more than a thousand miles and at least six state lines away.

The door bell rings and so does your phone. Its your friend urging you to check the door. You walk to the door with your three year old firmly twisted around your one leg. And there she is. She is not alone – there are two little ones, a husband, another friend and her brother-in-law, in toe. The husband is someone you’ve known longer than her. They’ve both worked a full day and then taken a flight to Dallas before driving to Houston the very same night. And then, they go back to work from Houston tomorrow morning. The kids are 11 and 6 and tired and sleepy and desperate to not be in this strange house with these strange people. And yet, she is here – this fast-talking bundle of energy. And here I am. Hoping each hug tells her how much this means to me.

Its been over a decade since I’ve seen her. Together, we’ve hiked and cooked and discussed books and families and been the fast to the other’s furious. Alone, she has waded through trash for me(long story). Alone, she has shown me how easy and light you can make every day, if you want to. Alone, she has shown me how you can plan an extra 4 hour road trip at the end of a working day with two kids in toe, to spend 30 mins with two old friends. This absolute crazy woman with heart the size of Texas. I’m just so darned grateful for this day and for her.

I wish I could bottle the memory of this day up to open and smell anytime I forget your particular brand of crazy, Reekha. The world needs more of that brand of crazy, woman. And KK – you absolutely lucked out, my friend. I’ve no clue how.