The 24th Day of Lent

Dear Kay Jacobs,

I haven't talked with you in awhile, but I think of you often and ALWAYS remember your birthday!

When I think about my life as a young adult, your friendship is the cornerstone. I was gravitated towards you in our undergraduate education class at the University of Louisville simply because you were older than everyone else, and I figured you would be the one that would have her act together. I was right.

At the young age of 33, you had already seen more of the dark side of life than I would probably ever see. You had lost your mother as a child. Your grandmother raised you. At 16, you were married, pregnant and a high school dropout. When I met you, you already had two teenage daughters and had been working as a kindergarten aide for the last several years.

You and I waded our way through college, graduating on time with a magna cum laude to boot. My graduation was fairly unremarkable; it was expected of me. You were what we celebrated.

Watching you struggle with a family and bills and school, seeing you refuse to fail, claiming your difficult history with pride rather than shame still causes me pause and makes me realize that if you can raise yourself up then so can I.

You used to say, "One day at a time, just one day at a time." That could very well have been the very best lesson I learned in college.

Thank you.
Love, Angela