Matchin' Red Hair

"You look at us this is what you see

Matchin' red hair and big brown eyes

Mother and daughter well possibly

But the truth we won't disguise

Cuz I could be hers and she could be mine

Though our blood is not the same

But our hearts beat as one to the same old song

And if you look close you'll see today."

These are the words to the first verse of a song I wrote not to long ago, entitled "Matchin' Red Hair." It's about a woman I met almost 3 years ago, but whom I feel I've known forever. She's become exactly like a mother to me, and sometimes I feel that I don't fully grasp what that means for her. Because-just like a mom-she is willing to risk our friendship, chance making me mad, and step on my toes if she feels that it's what's best for me. 

It's difficult for me to grasp, but I also believe that nothing could sever our friendship. I don't doubt there will be times when we are mad or upset with one another-in all honesty that's what it seems is the "norm" between mothers and daughters these days. I'd be lying if I said there hasn't been at least one time when I was angry. It didn't last, and it's made me take a fresh look at our relationship and what it really means.

Cheryl loves me like I am her own, and it blows me away. She has been there for me through so much, she's literally seen me grow up over the past three years.

I love telling the story of how we met and got to know each other, mostly because the story itself starts with a disagreement. ;)

The date we have picked as the "anniversary" of when we met is Jan 29, 2012. That's our yearly marker. The disagreement simply comes from the fact that I still insist it was about two weeks earlier. But since Jan 29th was the only date we could actually find that was linked to auditions of Game Plan, that is the date we chose.

Over the course of the next several months we got to know each other a bit, our friendship reaching the point of "well this might be more than I expected" on the same weekend for the both of us. Though that revelation was not shared for another year, it was soon clear to both of us that the friendship we shared would be more than expected the first day we met.

What I remember as our first meeting is this:

We were all together in a Sunday School classroom, listening to the CD recording of the play. Cheryl was sitting off to the side, her feet atop the chair in front of her. Her red hair was cut so short it spiked on top, and a pair of thin framed glasses magnified her brown eyes.

The image is all I remember of the night, besides finding out that I would get to help out behind the scenes.

Since that first meeting much has changed between us. We are no longer the casual friends we started out as. Our friendship has grown and deepened as the years have passed, and I expect that it will continue to. We have shared many "Mother and Daughter" moments, and many of them I will never forget. We have laughed together, cried together, I've held to her with a death grip while walking through a haunted wood, and most recently...she's stood by me through the worst panic attack I've ever had.

She's helped me to properly grieve and move past the death of my mother, and she's always there when I need a shoulder to cry on or a woman's listening ear.

I will forever be thankful for my Spiritual Mother, she is a gift to me from God. An "angel in disguise" if you will. 

I love you Cheryl <3