Everyone has a mom. If you’re lucky, you have a best friend.
And if there were a contest, I would win both, no question.
Today, we are in Green Bay, visiting the 92-3/4 years-old
Peggy Jane the Mom.
Today is also Retirement Day for my best friend, Charis Reeves Kipper, from the Wyoming School Boards Association in Cheyenne.
First, a mom update.
We walked into her room at assisted living and she was in her big red leather recliner, where she stays all day and all night. Long years of back issues make it impossible for her to sleep in a bed.
She had just returned from supper in the dining room, where she had a hot dog and potato salad.
“It wasn’t very good,” she said. “No onions, no celery, no egg.”
Shurmur women make great potato salad. Apparently this did not measure up.
We talked about the Trump sham trial and went over his possible picks for VP.
Then it was time for Jeopardy! As usual, she was on it. Replace S with N and she just poured out the answers.
No one is as sharp as she is, at 32 or 92.
This woman nearly died in March and now she is winning Jeopardy! as she has since its inception.
She’s bummed that her Bucks lost so early in the playoffs and she can’t wait for the election.
The doors lock at her place at 7 every night, so we needed an alternate exit after Wheel of Fortune.
Luckily, there are more days here for short visits, just the way she likes them.
On the first day of ninth grade, Charis Reeves saved me in the hall.
Mine was the first class at St. Laurence School that was forced to go public in ninth grade. Every class before ours got a big fancy graduation transitioning from ninth grade to high school.
We held protest marches, wrote letters to the Bishop, and nothing worked.
So there we were on the first day in the scary huge halls of ancient Laramie Junior High, and Charis adopted me.
We were in each other’s weddings, counseled each other through failed marriages and single parenting, and attended the weddings of our kids.
Now, she sits with us at the War every fall, even after the ridiculously spendy renovation.
She is so active, she barely has time to work. She is a three-season golfer, a league bowler and a busy grandma to her grandkids in Laramie
I have been begging her to retire, and now it’s finally time.
Here’s to my tribe. To Peggy Jane the Mom, who is feeling great and never wants to be “that sick” again.
And to Charis, who saved me not just on the first day of ninth grade, but continues to with every text, every card, every visit.
If you are lucky enough, call your Mom. Today.
If you have a best friend, make time for them. Teach your kids to be good friends. The world needs more people with friends.
