Ode to Adele

So last night I pulled off, with much help, an amazing feat. I surprised one of the sharpest women I know with an early Birthday Party. And I had two shots, so two big things in one night. If you have ever planned a surprise birthday party you know how anxiety provoking pulling it off can be. In the last hour I didn't know if she was clueless or torturing me with her 5 phone calls and a text, thus the first shot. The second one was to prove to her I did the first as she has never seen me have a shot before. And now I am not saying alcohol is the answer, but my xanax was at home. ( Hmm is she serious???)

Anyway it was a wonderful success, completely blindsided her. Having her bake the birthday cake helped, and the fact that her birthday is actually 5 months away. One of the activities of the evening was a sharing circle where people shared memories or said wonderful things, all with the intent of making the birthday girl well up with emotion & cry some more (we used to get extra points in therapy school if we got, I mean made room for,  our clients to cry during a session, without inflicting physical harm, that was frowned upon) As we were going around the room sharing, it came to my turn. I started telling the story about how Adele & I met & how it was instant admiration, and respect. She interrupted my story, as she always does to highlight the points she found important ( the fact that I just bought her dream house in town,) and I would have to wrestled away control to tell my side ( she verbally shred a woman who inadvertently put down a man I had the hots for) & the fact that Adele didn't know I had the hots for this guy and still shared my unexpressed opinion, I knew she was a keeper. My story got interrupted again by someone else taking the invisible talking stick and I was left with much to say and no subtle way to get the floor. I find I frequently get interrupted and lose speaking room in a group. Thus the blog I guess.

What I was going to say was Adele is the most amazing woman I have ever had the privilege to know. If I was stranded on a desert island, or going to Costa Rica, there is no one in the world I would rather be with. She is loyal to a fault (you know who you are) , brilliant, determined, compassionate, I make her laugh till she cries ( gotta love someone who thinks you are that funny,) honest, positive and a true presence. She has overcome unthinkable odds and created a strong and safe foundation for her children. She is a woman who is truly beautiful both inside and out. I would never have guessed, going to the mutual friend's shower so many years ago that I would have met a person who would change my life forever. But I did. And I am better for knowing her, as is anyone else whose life she touches. To you Adele & the next 50!
* That is not a reflection of her current age but more an estimation of how many more years I will be alive to enjoy her presence in my life~ felt like I needed to clarify that.