Haylee at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis this past weekend.

 

We all have people who come into our lives and change them in some ways. Haylee came into my life when she was just 17 years old. We were not always good friends. Now we are "BFF" as people call it.  Due to Covid and her hectic schedule I don't see her as much as I used to but we text and talk for hours on the phone. Now over 30 years of age, she has really developed into this beautiful human being, mother to Colin, Oliver, and Miles, wife to Joe, friend to many. Haylee understands me, which is a beautiful and yes, slightly a selfish thing on my part. But not many people get me for reasons I am never going to explain. Laughing. The reasons don't really matter. But when someone finally gets me, it's so welcoming. I can talk to her. She listens and I really listen to her. We don't always meet people we end up loving in some way, too. Love is hard these days. But Haylee is easy to love. She's smart, too. Bonus. Smiling, This photo perfectly captures her outward beauty, too. She's at the Orpheum Theater, one of my favorite places in Memphis. Joe must have took this photo.

Birthday post aka Things I am grateful to have in my life (1) Haylee

 

Haylee came into my life in 2007. I still remember the first time I saw her. I didn't know at the time, she was only 17 years old, though she would be 18 in October. I also didn't know she was pregnant with my first grandchild. We had a mixed beginning but during that time, I learned a lot about myself, her, girls, what I thought was life and what was really life. It made me a better person and I will always look back on that time as a period of great growth and understanding of the world. Haylee came into my life when my parents were also leaving this world. I saw old things falling away, things I held dear, I felt great loss and chaos. It was chaos for Haylee too. At 18 she would have her first baby and be living in a very troubling situation. That's just too young but so many girls experience this. And I felt it. I understood it. It humbled me. It reminded me of my youth. It reminded me of how we change in life but how we are always part of our past selves.

Haylee is beautiful, not only on the outside but the inside. She loves with her whole heart. She's been my best friend for so long now. And I see myself in her, and I also see myself through the lens of her own view. 

On my birthday, I promised myself to be thankful for people this year, to be happy that I was having another birthday and was healthy enough to enjoy it both physically and mentally, because that hasn't always been the case in the last six years. Haylee's presence in my life is the gift. That I know her and she loves me.