Last weekend, before Christmas I was in the mall. I really only needed one thing from one store, but that one store happened to be in the mall. While I was there I asked on Facebook if anyone else was at the mall and if they wanted to meet for coffee. No one was, but a friend said she had to come to mall and would I wait for her. Sure…why not, two days before Christmas it was okay to hang out the mall.

I wandered my way over the Carlton Cards store, I had a couple of birthday cards to by for. Birthday cards? Do people still buy cards, in this digital, social media age we live in? Well yes, of course they do.

I was looking for a “friend” birthday. You would think that would be easy, but it was actually very challenging. Looking in the “male” section of the store, there were cards for Dads, brothers, uncles, nephews, grandsons. Where were the male friend birthday cards? There didn’t really seem to be any. All the “friend” cards were mushy girly cards. The not so mushy cards, were just too generic and not really what I was looking for.

I couldn’t find the right card. Well, then I remembered, I had found the right card, earlier this year. And I had actually sent it, about six months before the actual birthday.

In the summer I started on my photobook craze. I starting on a project that I was going to make a book of all the trips that B and I had taken over the nine years that we had been friends. It was going to be a birthday present. When it was done (July) I knew I couldn’t hold onto it until December. Did I think I would be able to? Of course not. I had found a great card (can’t remember where I bought it), and sent the gift. It was either six months late from last year, or six months early for this year.

Fast forward to today, B’s birthday. Just yesterday I was out with a friend for the day and we talked about travel. I found myself talking about my birthday in Paris, my streetcar ride in New Orleans, my visit to the beautiful Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, my fish dinner at Mama’s fish house in Maui, and so much more.

Realizing that all these great memories in mind were the perfect backdrop for a birthday card greeting.

Happy birthday to someone special. Someone who likes to travel to amazing places, loves to drive, and find the adventure in the little things along the way.

Happy birthday to someone that every year for the last nine years I look forward to seeing, whether it is coming to visit New York or now LA, and of course when our meetings take us to places that we haven’t been (or Las Vegas where we both have been many times). 

Here’s to 2013 – where it will actually be 10 years in October that we met. How could that be? I still remember when we met. I will see you in February, and then who knows where and when our next adventure will be. I look forward it!

Happy birthday friend,

Lisa