Party Until The Cows Have All Been Tipped...

OK, so I may have some of my facts confused as far as exact dates, who said what, and so forth, but, having turned 50 two years ago, I'm entitled to a little bit of memory loss. Sue, on the other hand, with her incredible steel trap of a mind for details, will have suffered no such lapse at any age, and can fill you in on the real order of things if you really want to know :) Here's my version:

I think that it was 1986 when I first met Sue. We were both living in San Diego then and worked together at Midwest Pacific Financial. The home office of our company was in Iowa--a place that Sue had not yet visited, but was learning about from Ed Holmes, the young son of one of our company's principles. Ed had come to San Diego "to learn more about the operations" so that he could some day run the company as his dad did. What he REALLY came out for was to get out of the cornfields, party and get some sun, which Sue was more than happy to help with. They became fast friends, sharing a "corny" sense of humor and a love for baseball. I recall at least a few times that they skipped out together for a Thursday afternoon Padre game.

You had to know Ed to understand how what I am about to tell you could have "slipped by" someone as keen (sidenote: gullible) as Susan. Soon after Ed arrived in San Diego, he told Susan about how the kids in Iowa would sneak out into the fields at night and tip over cows for fun. It was a well-known sport in Iowa, that Cow Tipping thing. Sue told us how Ed described in detail how you would crawl out on your belly and grab the cow's far legs and pull on them until the cow "tipped over." Now, Susan, with her wonderful sense of conversation and social graces, finds herself sitting at a dinner table with Ed's dad, who has come out on business to visit the operation, and she turns to him and starts a delightful conversation about this sport of Cow Tipping! There was some very interesting response from the elder Mr. Holmes and an instant realization by Sue that she'd been duped by Ed. She has never lived it down and, I believe, STILL has some of the cow memorabelia given to her by her coworkers, as well as from all the people who've subsequently heard and loved that story over the years.

It would take a book to write about all of the memories I share with Sue. The first Christmas Ornament parties were started when we both lived in San Diego so many years ago, and still continue at Sue's home in Portland twenty years later. She flew to New Jersey in 1992 and stayed with my family and I to be in my wedding. She opened her home to me when I found myself moving to Oregon less than a year later. We worked together again at First Interstate Bank and met Sheila and Mo and so many others who are still very, very dear friends of ours. She's leant me her generous ears and heart over many cups of coffee. She's been my de-facto property manager while I've been living back in San Diego for the past seven years. I secretly planned her 40th birthday party ten years ago (how can that BE?!?), and she helped with my 50th two years ago. The circle is uncanny. Our lives weaving in and out of each other's regardless of the geographic distance, our hearts always together.

I am blessed to have Sue in my life and consider her to be one of the most dear and loyal friends anyone could ever have. She is truly a Gift from God and brings her love, her joy, her humor and her honesty to all that come into her path. Although she never had her "own" children, what she is giving to all of the young ones that are lucky enough to have her as a teacher, both in church and at school, is priceless and is, I am certain, changing their lives for the better every day that they are gifted with her love, wisdom and strength.

Sue, I wish that I could be with you to celebrate your 50th next Monday, but, I know that YOU REMEMBER what it's like to be in the last month of your first semester of an MBA program :O. We will celebrate this and many more birthdays together over the years to come.

With much love and gratitude,

Tricia