Charlise and I became friends sixteen years ago when I began teaching at Westminster Christian Academy outside of Watkinsville, GA. I nervously walked into the first teachers’ meeting of preplanning, not knowing anyone there. I was one of the first to arrive and found a seat in the large circle of chairs and waited for the meeting to begin. The room began to fill as other teachers arrived, greeting their friends and colleagues and enjoying catching up after their summer vacations. The chairs on either side of me remained empty. Then Charlise came waltzing into the room and made a beeline straight for me with this happy smile on her face and a twinkle in her big brown eyes. She stuck her hand out and said, “Hi, I’m Charlise James and I teach high school English. You must be the new history teacher.” She took her seat beside me and began filling me in on everything I needed to know. It was instant friendship.
That friendship deepened over the next year as she and I shared a planning period together each day. As we graded papers, we shared our life histories, our hopes, and our trials and tribulations. We became counselors to one another as well as prayer partners. She told me about her deepest desire to marry the man she had been dating off and on for several years, and a few years later, I shared her joy as the two of them exchanged vows in the candlelit sanctuary of an old abandoned church. I shared my worries about my teenaged son, and she prayed with me for him. Now she shares my joy when I show her pictures of my precious granddaughter and tell her what a good daddy my son has become. I found my soul mate in Charlise, someone who truly understood me and loved me anyway. My bosom buddy, as Anne of Green Gables liked to say.
The years passed quickly. We often met and talked about our concerns over students we cared about deeply and prayed for them. We trusted each other completely and knew that anything said between us would be held in the strictest confidence. I often encouraged Charlise in her role as teacher, as she sometimes doubted herself and her ability – and desire – to continue in her job. Eventually, both of us cut back to part-time, which allowed us time for weekly lunch meetings where we solved the problems of the world and got into deep, philosophical and spiritual conversations that would last for hours. Giving up those meetings was one of the hardest things about moving two-and-a-half hours away to come here to be near Mama. Eventually, Charlise also moved to be near her mama, making her only an hour away. Now we strive for monthly lunch dates, and yesterday was one of those.
We met in a quaint little coffee shop in the artsy community of Sautee, GA, not far from the Bavarian town of Helen. The coffee was rich and smooth, and the double-chocolate fudge cookies were outstanding! We lingered for hours at our table by the window as we caught up, now sharing our struggles to care for aging parents. Charlise gave me my birthday gift, a copy of her favorite devotional book and a paper-bead necklace handmade by women in Uganda who are trying to make a living. Those are the kinds of things she loves to buy. When we left the coffee shop, we went across the road to Shapiro’s, where we enjoyed looking at the beautiful and unique handmade crafts for sale. I bought a lovely pair of earrings. As always, Charlise struck up a conversation with the proprietor, and we stayed for quite a while. Charlise is the one who taught me how to talk to complete strangers and and showed me that doing so is worthwhile. You never know what you will learn.
Next we went into a shop that sells Native American art, something I never really cared for, except for the silver and turquoise jewelry. (Yes, I love shiny baubles.) I did buy two little crocheted finger puppets for Hayden, and that completed my purchases for the day. It did not complete our looking, however. We crossed the road to the Old Sautee Store that has been there my whole life. I hadn’t been inside for many years, and neither had Charlise, so it was quite nostalgic. The front of the store is a museum, a restored version of the original general store built in 1872. Behind this room is the contemporary version. We spent a long time there, looking at the home décor, trying on clothes, and sampling their famous Farmers’ cheese on gingersnaps. One saleslady tried her best to sell me a beautiful green quartz ring, but I had already “shot my wad” for the day. Next, we went next door to the deli and ordered the daily special, a delicious Panini with ham and Swiss and raspberry sauce with spicy mustard. We sat out on the porch and ate while we watched an approaching storm come over the mountains straight for Nacoochee Valley.
I have always loved storms – ever since I was a very small child when Mama would make me a pallet on the floor in front of the screen door so I could lie there and watch the wind and rain. To me, the sky is never more beautiful than when dark clouds contrast with sunlit sky as the storm either comes or goes. This is especially true in the mountains. You can often see the rain falling on the tops of the mountains well before it reaches you, and that was the case yesterday.
We finished our sandwiches and walked to a lovely garden shop with a living roof covered with grasses and ferns. I love plants even more than I love jewelry! From there, we went to the Lavender Cottage, a quaint shop with a front-porch swing. Everything in the shop is made with lavender. I learned you can use lavender in food! We sampled tea cookies made with the herb and tested good-smelling sprays and lotions, and, of course, struck up a conversation with the lady behind the counter. The rain finally reached us, so we stayed for quite a while until it passed. We sat out on the porch swing where the storekeeper kindly took pictures for us. We also took pictures of a robin sitting on her nest in the corner of the porch roof.
Once the rain ended, we returned to the car and drove to the art gallery and pottery museum. I wandered around while Charlise discussed some old pottery her family has with the curator. When we were ready to leave, the bottom fell out again, so we were forced to wait out the “frog-strangler.” The sun started to shine while the rain still fell hard. We looked for a rainbow and didn’t find one, but we did see the sunlight dance of the rivulets of water falling from the eaves. It looked like tinsel. Charlise had an epiphany – “Rivulets – I get it now, little rivers!” When the rain slowed, we headed for the car. I returned Charlise to her car, and began the trek back over the mountains to home, as happy and content as I had been in many days. Awww, friendship – truly one of God’s greatest gifts, and a life-saver for caregivers!
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