Merry B*tchmas!

I hope you all know at least one person as spectacular as my friend Marta.

I fist met Marta when our kids were in elementary school, and I attended an amazing presentation session she gave at Expo (somewhat of a sister school to Randolph Heights) on the importance of Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTS). Marta's presentation was brilliant. I was in awe. I had known her tangentially through mutual friend groups, but had never encountered her force in depth and in person. You know, that feeling when someone you sort of knew turns out to be a SUPERSTAR?

And then afterwards? Twitter was still a thing, and she tweeted something about similar about me! (still totally unwarranted, but I'll take it).

Over these years, Marta has been That Friend, over and over again. The one who shows up with food when my dad was first sick, and a wrap when I broke my wrist and could not put on sweaters. But also who has reached out when she needed an ear, knowing that true friendship is reciprocal. We've had wonderful walks, and talks, and times together at yoga, and texts, and online banter.

She's not only a fantastic friend, but a brilliant statistics professor,  a crop art virtuoso (Asst. Superintendent at the State Fair!), music aficionado, fantastic wife, great daughter, involved community member, advocate, and one of the most complex and thoughtful moms I know.

Not only am I so much richer to have her in my life, but she shares that with everyone. Marta has an amazing ability to connect all of her friends and make us all the better.

Last night, she held the second annual women's holiday party ("Basic B*tchmas"). We show up at her house in comfy clothes, she spoils us with great food and drink, we watch a ridiculous holiday-themed movie, and she gives us rafts of gifts (candles, tea, fluffy socks, her favorite lipstick, stickers), and we're all out the door by 8:00. It's her nature to take care of her friends, but in this time of year when we are all so depleted, I am not sure if she realizes how much this act of caregiving means.

Having a friend like Marta makes me want to be a better person every day. 


The image? Marta's gorgeous, but I knew she might be miffed if I put up a picture of her — I'm not exactly sure she's going to be thrilled that I'm calling out her brilliance online, but she's going to have to live with it. 

So here's some of her crop art — from an article in Billboard, no less. See what I mean? Superstar.

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