The Shirt Off My Back

A few weeks ago I wrote (here) about my friend Adrianne from Milwaukee and her return to sanity this fall after juggling the beach balls of summer. We had quite a long conversation over the hum of our 2 year old beauties babbling and whining in the background. The amazing thing about my friendship with Adrianne is our ability to connect on a deep level even after spending 5 years apart. It seems that in our random phone calls, emails, and notes we find that our lives are running along on very similar courses and our personal journeys have many commonalities. Adrianne spoke to me about feeling tapped out after a busy summer of doing everything for everyone else. While she loves being a wife and mom there are days that she feels she is teetering on the edge. I literally felt her pain because my life and hers are so very similar. Our spirits are aching in much the same way as I too try to figure out how to navigate this complicated role of woman, mom and wife. This conversation we shared left me longing to sit and sip coffee or wine together while swapping war stories. I imagine that we would cry a bit, then prop each other up with a hug and some laughter. Together we would realize that for all of the trials and tribulations we wouldn't trade our blessed lives for anything. But as luck would have it there are thousands of miles between us and too little time left in our busy schedules to connect on a regular basis.

I've had a lingering want to send just the right little thing to Adrianne. Today I believe I have come upon it. As I mentioned here I read a book recently called Gift from the Sea. I was struck at the time by Anne Morrow Lindbergh's analogy of a woman's life to the various offerings of the sea. Her words resonated in a very current way despite the fact that she penned the essay in the 1950's. I believe that these words will speak to Adrianne in much the same way. I contemplated sending her my copy and tossed it around in my mind for a few days. At the end of my internal debate I found that my copy of this book, complete with a note on the inside cover from my mom, is one that I want to keep and perhaps hand down to one of my daughters someday. So in an upsizing moment, I stopped at Border's and bought a fresh copy for my dear friend. I did not send it immediately as I yearned to find something to give to Adrianne. Then, there in the bottom of my tshirt drawer I discovered the exact item that I was searching for. My Simplify tshirt - complete with yellowed pits and stiffened 100% cotton from washing. I purchased this shirt a few years back and wore it on a regular basis in an effort to share and internalize this mantra. I'm not sure that it has fleshed out in a more simple existence. Since I bought it we've had our 3rd child and I've gone back to work as a nurse. A strange take on simplification, huh? Obviously, a simpler life continues to be a goal for me evidenced by this personal challenge. If downsizing one thing a day and blogging about it daily doesn't sound like a journey to the simple life, I'm not sure what does. At any rate, the Simplify shirt is on its' way to Milwaukee. Perhaps Adrianne will cry or laugh when she opens the package. My hope is that she understands that our friendship transcends all space and time. She is so special to me I literally gave her the shirt off my back. My sincere wish is that the mantra Simplify will come to fruition for her.