When our loved ones transcend this plain and move on to the next, they leave us with some of the rarest moments in time through the legacy of memories, mostly photos. Andrea sent these pictures to me last week as she was going through photos from her grandmother's house. Andrea's house was more than the Lily Dily house to me, it's where I had my first taste of Chicken and dumplings. Mue's dumpling were the best. I can still taste them today and I don't even eat Chicken anymore. Andrea and I have been friends since I was about 12 years old and she was turning 13. I was the only person ever allowed to spend the night at her house. (think I'm special, I am 🙂 ) I have such fond memories at her house. Especially of the time when Andrea was washing dishes and cut her finger and decided it was time for us to become blood sisters. Of course I complied. Outside of cousins I'd say that Andrea was one of my first "real" friends. I don't remember what we were doing on these photos but we were always laughing and having a good time. We did a lot together. We even modeled together 😊 One of the things I remember most about Andrea was her study habits. Before tests Andrea would sleep with books under her pillow so that the information in the books would seep through to her brain. This was the highest level of osmosis at such a young age and she was already into metaphysics. I love that about her. No matter where I have traveled in life I have always made sure to let Andrea know where I am. She is a big part of the reason why I began taking my writing seriously. It was her who stated what I should be doing and I figured if she was supporting my work that there must be something great to it. She is one of the most honest people that I know who doesn't sugar coat anything so I knew if she was empowering me to do it; I should. Life is precious. It's amazing the many lives that we live, the changes that we go through. the growth that we experience and the lives that we touch and those that touch ours. I look at these pictures and I feel blessed. Thank you Andrea.
