A Friend in Good Times and Bad
My mother grew up in a big family. She was one of seven kids until her two brothers died in their teens. This may be why she thought that anyone who was around could pitch in with whatever she needed.
During the period that we lived in that new trailer and before her fall from the grapevine, I had a friend (that I had just met) come to stay over for the first time. Unfortunately, on this same day, our water pipes froze. We had a surprise snow storm. The temperatures dropped. Since the underpinning had not been installed yet, the pipes froze!
My mother insisted that my new friend and I go out in the snow and freezing temperaturesto wrap heat tape around all of the water pipes.
Our first overnight stay consisted of hours in the cold, feeling as if our hands were going to literally freeze off, wrapping water pipes. Teeth chattering, snow hitting our faces, and hands that had gone numb from the cold, I figured she would never come over again.
What happened after? You’d think she would decline any future invitations, right? Being put to work in the snow for a person that she had just met. Well…apparently, she took it in stride because, after 27 years, she is still my best friend!
I’m very thankful that she stuck around through the good times and the BAD!
Please read my next post: Granny Love
