My Day with Jean(ne)s

Somehow today everything on my calendar ended up to be with different friends named Jean(ne). It started with my annual lunch to celebrate my friend Jean Bethea’s birthday, which was a happy occasion. Jean and I have been friends at least fifteen years. She is always good about remembering my birthday and celebrating it with not just gifts, but a lunch out to catch up.

I am not as good at birthdays. Hard as I try I usually miss the actual day, especially Jean’s since it is in the beginning of August, a time of year I don’t look at the calendar, know what day it is or even what time it is. This year was a little better than usual because we actually had our lunch out in the same month as her birthday. I am trying to be better at these things especially given my second Jeanne thing today.

See my great and wonderful friend Jeanne Behr is moving on Saturday. I am sad, sad, sad, but since her husband David Anderson got a great job at George Washington University I know she has to go.   I still don’t have to be happy about it. Last week Jeanne and I got together for what we thought was our going away lunch and trip to the needlepoint store, but we were not ready to say goodbye.

So we are having dinner tonight and I promise no crying even though it is what I feel like doing. Jeanne and I got to know each other originally at church while she and David were dating. They sat in my regular section. We liked and disliked the same things. We laughed about the same things and complained about the same things. Eventually I started to bug David about when they might get married. When the time came I was the director of their wedding.

It seems to me like I have friends moving away at a much faster rate than I am making them. This is not good given that my child is not going to be living at home in about three years and the rate at which one makes new friends slows down dramatically without a child.

Of course I will still be friends with Jeanne, she is just moving five hours away, but it is not the same as having that person sitting behind you on Sunday. The best gift I can give Jeanne is a chance to meet some of my Washington area friends so she can start to make friends in her new home. Her kids are way grown up. She is moving to Old Town Alexandria so you people in the capital area contact me so I can put you in touch with her, Dorothy Pearson I’m talking to you.

I have an opening in my friends named Jeanne category as well as my friend’s named David. Yes, David I will miss you too, especially your dry wit, but I am still a little mad at your for taking Jeanne away. Just remember that Durham is a good place to retire to and I bet I can get your place in the pew behind me back from whoever moves into your spot. There is no way they can be as good as you two are.