I’m extremely pleased to recognize my friendship with Ms. Gerry Graham, a good friend and a very nice woman I met five years ago right here in southern Alexandria.  Back in 2008, my oldest daughter was just shy of being two years old.  In my typical creative spirit, I was seeking out fun, exciting projects to work on.

Just two years earlier, my husband had bought me a sewing machine, but it got dust on it from non-use.  Little by little, I started using my sewing machine in little spurts of time.  My mom showed me some basic techniques, while I picked up the rest of my sewing skills on my own from basic trial and error.

I went for the gusto and decided to make a quilt, just because.  I honestly cannot remember which one was my first quilt, but I had already made a few by the time I met Gerry.  I went onto our local, Alexandria Freecycle website (used to be here but has now moved here) and found out that Gerry was giving away fabric for free.  All I had to do was go to her home and pick it up. 

(Freecycle is a lot like Craigslist.  People post stuff they want to get rid of.  You contact the person who placed the ad and set up arrangements for pick-up.)

I went to Gerry’s house with my oldest daughter.  Gerry enjoyed my company so much that she asked me to sit down so that we could chit chat for a while.  Gerry’s home was filled with stuffed animals, collectibles, and sporting memorabilia.  My daughter loved it all.  While my daughter was well entertained, Gerry asked me a bunch of questions, which I really didn’t mind answering.

Gerry took an interest in me and my daughter and wanted to know more about me.  I handed Gerry one of my business postcards and told her that I make diaper cakes and that I sew quilts.  Would you believe that she ordered a diaper cake on the spot?  She also asked me to make her a quilt.

I was truly dumbfounded that such a simple Freecycle transaction in which I was supposed to pick up fabric ended up being a day of making a new friend and earning business.  From that moment forward, Gerry ended up ordering two more quilts and we became good friends after that.

It has been almost 5.5 years since I met Gerry.  We are still good friends today, even though we live so close to one another and barely have time to meet up for friendship and coffee.  Now that I have two girls, my life is busier than ever.  She keeps busy, too, with her own family and personal projects.

Gerry is a mother of four adult children who have several children of their own.  I do not remember how many grandchildren Gerry has, but I know it is a lot! Gerry recently graduated from online coursework in December 2011.  She is frequently on Facebook posting inspirational messages and on occasion, a pictorial homage to her favorite sports team, the Dallas Cowboys.

After our quilt and diaper cake transactions ended, I thought that was that, but the friendship continued.  Gerry has gone out of her way to text me, call me, and consistently ask how my girls are doing.  Since I tell Gerry frequently that I’m off to New Jersey to visit my mother, Gerry makes it a point to also ask how she is doing.

Gerry has expressed so much genuine concern for me.  I am so grateful and touched to have such a sincere friend who really cares about me and my family.  Now, it is my great pleasure to give public thanks to a lovely woman.  Thank you, my dear friend Gerry, for all you do for me. Thank you for being my friend and caring for me.

If you are grateful for having a good friend in your life, I hope you’ll share it in the comments section!