Day Four ...for the "Birds"

Today I am going to write about my birds.  Two of my friends that I hang with quite often, and feel confident enough in, to pretty much tell it like it is.  I know these two girls would always have my back.  One put the call out and needed us to help her clean her house, and there we were, knee deep in house renovation, cleaning windows, and dusting shelves.  I needed help with Kip's garage sale, and there one was... sweating her tata's off right along with us.  Anytime I'm down and need a "Date", one of these girls is there for me. 

I'm of course, talking about Janis Young (aka Pidge), and Cathy Stephens (aka Hummingbird).  I, of course, carry the name, Swan.  I've had my name awhile, since I can knock mailboxes down, trip down perfectly good stairs, and be standing one second and fall the next in no time flat.  Janis, after calling me Swan, for awhile, decided she needed a bird name as well.  She thought for a minute and said "I'm a bit of a pidgeon", which immediately turned into Pidge, and she is now and forever "Pidge" to me.  Cathy came late to the bird party and church was about a hummingbird one day, and we liked that for her, so she's still "Cathy" to me.  Because I can't see calling her "Humming" ever.  Janis is a Pidge, and Cathy, well she is "Cathy".  Has been since I hooked up with her in 2nd grade.  Yep, we've been friends for 44 years. 

 I was the tall geek on
the back row and she was always
the cute short girl on the front.


I love this girl.








It was funny how we always could go 5 years between reunions, and not talk or see each other, and the minute we saw each other, caught right up??   I love those kinds of friends.   I will be writing about a few of them over the next few weeks....

Cathy would always show up to any of the blood drives we had for Laynie that was within driving distance for her.  Janis and I and our random boy scout friend, stood in front of the sign out in the heat.  It was a great day... we had over 75 people come and give blood in Laynie's memory.  It was a sad day, too..... the first blood drive we did, after she passed away.  People came in bulk that day, loving a baby they had never met.  It was incredible.




Cathy commented that she liked this picture of us, because Jesus is in the background. 



The birds never know what I am going to toss their way as far as adventures, and on this particular Saturday, at Christmastime, we went to a church and fed Christmas dinners to the homeless.  It humbled all three of us.  We wanted to pull out our purses and give everything we had to some of these people.  Helping others is the best way to get a perspective on yourself.  Hands down. 

Then in March, I enlisted them to run in the Wings of Hope "Icicle" Run (what I changed it to after the day it came and it was 30 below wind chill).  Janis already runs and is my hero.  I watched her do a triathalon in Norman, and yelled for her swimming, chased her to her bike, yelling encouragement, drove to watch her ride her bike by, and drove over and watched her run across the finish line, and cried for her, because I haven't been so proud of someone since my daughter's took their first steps.   So, she's an old pro at running, while Cathy and I decided that we'd just run a 5k, and while Cathy trained... I just showed up and thought it would be easy.   Pshh.  Wrong.  Especially in so cold weather.  It was grueling, but we had about 75 Laynie fans at that run, and it made us glow to see all the "Laynie Love" floating around that day.  It was Fabulous.

Then two weekends later, I talk Janis into doing the Lucky 5k run (Chesapeake's first annual), because since I had done one 5k (and lived through it), surely I could do 2.  I think a rule of thumb, here,  is, before running 5k's, one should at LEAST attempt running a mile a couple of times instead of jumping straight in.  I'd share the bag story with you here, but it's too embarrassing to even put it in writing.  I still have bag flashbacks about that race.  I'm glad Janis enjoys running.  She looks good doing it, and is really fast and dedicated.  I'm just there for the free stuff and the tshirt, and the snack at the end.  oh yeah,  And the "Joy. Of. Running." (not so much)

They also keep in shape by kickboxing together, and see how sweaty they are??  I avoid that at all costs.  See how awesome they look sweaty??  Kind of "hot", in a sexy, sweaty, way??   Well, when I sweat, I just look.... well..... sweaty.   Nothing remotely attractive about it.  So I avoid sweaty activities... for everyone's sakes.  My hair goes flat, my face just immediately starts popping out in zits, and I have sweat rings the size of a small state in all kinds of inappropriate places, so .... yeah.... I'll stick to serving food to the homeless. 

Janis is a "Mammy", and her little granddaughter is about the sweetest thing this side of heaven.  It just makes life go round... these grandbabies.   She is going back to school to be a nurse, and after a frantic call about needing to write an autobiography for a term paper, she came to my house, I talked her off the ledge, asked her 150 questions, and we wrote her dang term paper.  In about 45 minutes.  Cause that's what birds do, they stick together.

Cathy's profound Comment, because she had this on her brain that day, as the neighborhood in which she lives, was momentarily out.....

"NO WATER!?"

This is kind of how we all are feeling day 10 of 100+ heat....

So my only question was...did you have to call for one of these????

Gulp.

And Janis's comment was   ...

"Whatever you are on, I want two"



which I get alot from her.  She's the runner.  I'm the runner of the mouth.   So after deep deliberation of this statement.... here is my response in picture form....

That's what I'm on ..  a laughing high on life, my friends.  And nothing, I repeat NOTHING is more important than telling the people you love, YOU LOVE THEM.  So here are two more VIP's, that know exactly that.   



Birds rule, Boys drool.