Day 35 - 330 Days to go

Coalie and I walked in the rain tonight.  I love a rainy day.  For lots of reasons, my walk was postponed until 9:30 tonight.  Abby was home sick again, we had a parent meeting at school, and choir carpool.  There are always so many reasons to find to not walk.  The best reason I had for delaying my walk was because my friend Mandy from London called.  She is flying home from Aspen tomorrow.  Rain always reminds me of being in London.  I spent almost a year there in my early twenties and Mandy was the first friend I made.  I booked a room through a bed and breakfast site and found myself on Mandy's doorstep.  In London it's not uncommon to rent out a bedroom for a night to help pay for the mortgage.  Mandy is 3 years younger than me and already owned her flat.  It was a tricky walk from Barons Court tube with 4 or 5 turns in the dark.  I found her building and walked up 3 flights of stairs.  I had been in Switzerland so at least was not suffering from jet lag while also being out of breath.  When Mandy opened the door, we both knew immediately that we would be friends.  We like to say I rented for a week and stayed for a year.   She was there when I nannied, when I worked in Wales at a country hotel, and when I moved back to London to sell oil paintings door to door.  She was there when Greg and I started planning our wedding.  She is still there when I have questions about my mom's health (she and her husband Andy are both doctors) and anytime I need a friend.  We manage to make the long distance and big time frame not be such a big deal.  Mandy was (is) my home away from home.