Lori
Lori has become a good friend since she started working in my office. We were talking about what drew us together, inspite of our mutual aversions to developing intimate friendships with co-workers. "At first glance you seemed so ordinary, I hardly noticed you. You sure know how to hide your light under a bush," she said with a big grin.
Over the course of a few months we started noticing more about each other, particularly in the 6 months running up to the Election. I noticed that she was openly Republican in an extremely Democrat office. She noticed that my political orientation defied any label she knew. She was floored when she found out I was 36 instead of 25 I apparently looked to her, and that I didn't watch television. I was floored when I found out that she'd had no education past high school, and until she had recently married, had raised two children on her own. I liked her Texas spunk, she liked catching the comments I lobbed over most people's heads.
But it wasn't until she gave me a ride home one night that Stephanie had to be to class early, that our friendship started in earnest. I invited her in, because she'd heard me talk about how much I liked my new place. She said she really liked the energy, and she'd forgotten how restful and comfortable a home can be when you don't have to worry about everything being 'child-proof'. She marvelled at all the bottles of wine, liked my idea of putting a string of lights with coloured paper lanterns inside the fireplace, but was baffled by the ornately carved 4-part wooden screen with the altar to Buddha set before it.
"I didn't realize you were Buddhist," she'd said.
"I'm not," was my response.
"But there are two altars to Buddha here..."
"Yes, and there are two Sri Laksmi, and several Bibles, the Koran, books on Wicca, Judaica, Eastern religions, mythology, the occult--I even have the Urantia book."
She also loved my bedroom, of course, with the beaded canopy and the big sleigh bed, all the books, the asian influence, and the cherry wood coat stand draped in scarves.
"You rarely wear those," she said as she ran some through her hands.
Something impish in me made me say, "I use them mostly in bed,"
She looked up in surprise and I met her eyes, and a dialogue began, and we learned just how much we had in common.
She may be moving back up to Seattle, where her husband's family is. He is the baby of the family and he is both missed and missing them, and with his brother's death so recent on the heels of their mother his sisters are asking him to come 'home', and he and Lori are thinking seriously about it.
I am going to miss her if she goes.
Over the course of a few months we started noticing more about each other, particularly in the 6 months running up to the Election. I noticed that she was openly Republican in an extremely Democrat office. She noticed that my political orientation defied any label she knew. She was floored when she found out I was 36 instead of 25 I apparently looked to her, and that I didn't watch television. I was floored when I found out that she'd had no education past high school, and until she had recently married, had raised two children on her own. I liked her Texas spunk, she liked catching the comments I lobbed over most people's heads.
But it wasn't until she gave me a ride home one night that Stephanie had to be to class early, that our friendship started in earnest. I invited her in, because she'd heard me talk about how much I liked my new place. She said she really liked the energy, and she'd forgotten how restful and comfortable a home can be when you don't have to worry about everything being 'child-proof'. She marvelled at all the bottles of wine, liked my idea of putting a string of lights with coloured paper lanterns inside the fireplace, but was baffled by the ornately carved 4-part wooden screen with the altar to Buddha set before it.
"I didn't realize you were Buddhist," she'd said.
"I'm not," was my response.
"But there are two altars to Buddha here..."
"Yes, and there are two Sri Laksmi, and several Bibles, the Koran, books on Wicca, Judaica, Eastern religions, mythology, the occult--I even have the Urantia book."
She also loved my bedroom, of course, with the beaded canopy and the big sleigh bed, all the books, the asian influence, and the cherry wood coat stand draped in scarves.
"You rarely wear those," she said as she ran some through her hands.
Something impish in me made me say, "I use them mostly in bed,"
She looked up in surprise and I met her eyes, and a dialogue began, and we learned just how much we had in common.
She may be moving back up to Seattle, where her husband's family is. He is the baby of the family and he is both missed and missing them, and with his brother's death so recent on the heels of their mother his sisters are asking him to come 'home', and he and Lori are thinking seriously about it.
I am going to miss her if she goes.
posted by KR | 2/12/2005 09:36:00 AM
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