Saturday 9

Saturday 9: My Best Friend's Wedding

1. Have you ever lost a friend after he/she got married? Sort of. There's a friend I have literally thought of as "my baby." He's 13 years younger than I am and I mentored him at the beginning of his career, when he first moved to Chicago from St. Louis. He's a wonderful guy, a far more gentle soul than he appears. He married in 2008 and moved to the burbs with his wife and stepson and I haven't seen that much of him since. He's always on my mind -- but today he's top of mind because he called out of the blue to stay that they're going to have a baby! So I guess in a way this makes me "a grandma." I'm thrilled. He waited a long time to get married and become a dad (he'll be 40 when the baby arrives) but that's because he's thoughtful and wanted to make sure the time was right.

2. Do you make friends easily? Yes, I'm blessed that way.

3. Do you have many close friends? I think so.

4. Tell us about your oldest friend. You're new here, aren't you? My oldest friend has taken up a great deal of my time and attention and concern over the last year. She is one of those people that shit just happens to. She has troubled children, a checkered romantic history, problems at work, a history of health problems, a house in foreclosure ... She is also my touchstone, the keeper of my secrets, and the one who can make me laugh like no other.

5. Tell us about your newest friend. I suppose that would be Lana. I met her years ago, when I first started this job, but we didn't become friends until last summer. We're both massive Cub fans and were given free tickets by our company last August. The season was a lost cause by that point and we got them because no one else did. We really got to know one another for the first time that afternoon and have spontaneously become closer ever since.

6. Do you hang out with your friends often, or just occasionally when you can find time? When I can find the time, or when they need me. I always try to be available and I love and depend on them all. It's just I also need my alone time. It's how I recharge my battery.

7. What's the furthest you've traveled to visit (or vacation with, etc.) a friend? Last December I traveled 2000 miles to see my oldest friend for her first California birthday.

8. What's the biggest or best thing a friend has ever done for you? My dad died just as the company I was working for was going under. My friend (and, until almost that moment, boss) Ed used the time he spent waiting at the employment office to call people and organize a group to show up at my dad's wake. When I saw them come in, I felt like George Bailey at the end of It's a Wonderful Life -- truly blessed to have friends.

9. What's the worst or most hurtful thing that a friend (or an ex-friend) has done to you? I'm picking this up verbatim from the last Sunday Stealing: Oh, God. This was bad. Judy had been a friend for decades. She accused me of hitting on her boyfriend, and somehow going behind her back to expose their clandestine relationship to her sister. (Her lover once slept with Judy's sister, who considered Judy's relationship with him a betrayal; I don't know all the details because, honestly, I wasn't involved.) An ugly, ugly situation.

BTW, My Best Friend's Wedding is one my favorite movie soundtracks.
I highly recommend it!