Rainbow pal's a comin'

If you're lucky -- really lucky -- you have one person in your life who is always just there, even when they're not. They know you better, in some ways, than even your spouse. Their friendship feels like your favorite jeans -- perfectly worn in, comfortable, dependable, confidence-boosting.

I am that lucky.

My best friend, Sheila, arrives Friday for a long-overdue, much-needed weekend visit. I can't remember the last time we had more than just an hour or two together. It's been years. And our visits in New York, where she lives, are usually crammed with other friends I'm trying to see simultaneously while I'm in town. Not the most conducive to truly catching up.

I have nothing in particular planned for our time together (sorry, Sheil...). I know that we will eat too much, drink good wine, reminisce. I'll tell her about what it's like to be a mom, and she'll tell me about her upcoming opportunity to cover the Olympics in China.

And we'll laugh. Boy will we laugh. When I get off the phone after talking with Sheila, Chris tells me "You sound different when you talk to her. You laugh differently." And it's true, I do. It's the type of laughter that comes so easy it's almost unexpected. I don't know why; I just find life to be funnier when she's around.

I have been blessed with many beautiful friendships in my life, and there are a handful of people in this world I couldn't live without. Sheila is one of those friends, and her friendship goes back the furthest of them all .... all the way to first grade.

We've come a long way from those days in Brownies, commiserating about our troop leader and trying to master the Girl Scout handshake. But in other ways, despite almost 30 years, we are largely the same. Just like back then, chances are when you see us side by side, we'll be laughing.