  My dear Lizzie-friend leaves tomorrow for a week with her dad and as I sit here tonight thinking about a week without her, I realize that she really is my best friend in town.
I begin to wonder at the idea that I could now be so close to someone of whom I was so envious upon meeting. It is remarkable that I could be in the constant company of someone so great, so meaningful to me that she almost disappears into the fabric of my life. So tonight I have decided to give her her due attention by thinking about the things I love about her. ELIZABETH (aka Petunia)... 1. She is beautiful without being vain. (I am not beautiful and quite vain) Beauty is a two-edged sword--ask any woman in our society. To not be beautiful is to be an outsider, to be less-than, and (sometimes) to be pitied. To be too beautiful is to be assumed vulgar, stupid, without merit and, ironically, to be an outsider.
Elizabeth manages to be beautiful by every conventional standard and yet draw people to her instantly. She is loved rather than envied, admired rather than scoffed. 2. She has a quiet, tender heart. I realized the clear evidence of this one day after I finished a scathing tirade about a mutual acquaintance--I was critical and teasing and somewhat cruel. She laughed without comment and we moved on to other topics. Suddenly I realized that not once have I ever heard her make a critical or unkind remark about anyone.
Not once in the 12 years I have known her! Elizabeth has a tender heart that sincerely cares about and seeks out the best in most everyone. 3. She dares to be imperfect. She is willing to share weaknesses and imperfections and I marvel at this since I am in constant fear of being found out weak. Liz isn't afraid of what other people think--she is just willing to be Liz. And through her willingness to be herself, imperfections and all, I have learned the most remarkable thing about friendship--that love is love, mistakes and all.
4. She is supportive. She joys in my joys. She triumphs in my triumphs. She is sad in my sadness. She walks with me, sometimes pointing the way ahead, sometimes reminiscing about the way behind, sometimes just being. 5. She loves to laugh. There is nothing better than finding a way to make Elizabeth laugh. It is one of the things in life that brings me so much joy--talking on the phone with her and getting her to laugh. What a treasure I have with a "Lizzie-friend" in my life. I am such a better person for it. 
