HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLI!

 TODAY IS MY DEAR FRIEND, ALLI'S BIRTHDAY.

Sixty years ago, the gem of a friend was born 

and what an honor it has been to call her my friend.

We have known each other for most of our lives,

but really became friends over 35 years ago as young 

adults learning what "grown up" meant.

If you can call Alli friend,

it means that forever she will be there for you.

Not a Christmas or my Birthday passes that Alli does not 

only remember but celebrates.

Yet, it is not this that makes her so special to many,

it is her undying faith that if she calls you friend,

she will be there for you..... ALWAYS.

What Alli does for her aging friends is by far

one of her very best traits.

Every week, she not only visits an elderly couple 

in their home but helps one of them shower,

something he had not done in over a year before

Alli began helping them. He was just so afraid to fall

that he had succumbed to being washed up.

I could go into detail as to how she got him to trust her

but it was not just putting him in the shower but a series

of visits to show him how he could do it before the water

was ever turned on.

Her finest gift she has given to the world was her son, Rick.

As a single parent who sometimes worked three jobs

to give him the things he needed he now gives back

to our Country in the form of being a Navy man.

His dedication to his group is just as solid as his Mom's.

I was privileged to travel to Virginia with her and Bryan

to watch my godson, her Rick come home from 11 months of deployment

and to hear those who deployed with him honor him

lets me know he is so much like his Mom, a giver.

Alli had many rough years but I can't remember her ever complaining.

Then she met Bryan and her life changed as he has given

her a life she has always deserved. He has given her security 

financially and in ways that she has deserved for many years.

She just never stops giving.

Whether it be from traveling with her sister-in-laws as they battle 

health issues to cooking for her sweet Bryan she is always thinking of others.

She recently lost her brother who was only 11 months older than her.

Not only did she cook to make sure he always had food

but she managed to get him a safe place to live. Ever since he had

brain surgery many years ago, she had been his caregiver always with him

in his hospital stays and was there when he took his last breath.

It has been a loss for her that has shook her world.

However, even in his death she found ways to give to others 

in honor of his life.

To call Alli a friend is an honor to me.

I know that no matter what the circumstance, if I need her, she will be there.

Happy Birthday my dear friend!

 You deserve the very best in this World.