My Friend 8.6.10

You know how there are those people you meet and they nearly instantly become part of the very fabric of your being?

You know how they can live across the country and you may not talk more than a couple of times a year and see each other next to never but when you do it's like no time has passed? No time at all? And they just get you? And inspire you? And make you want to be a better person?

Deidre is one of those people. Twenty-one years ago, we met at the sinks in Deseret Towers brushing our teeth. We discovered we were both piano majors, both liked the same kinds of music, and I think we were friends to the core within a day. (Our group later included our soon-found friends Steph and Guen and after I got married and deserted the apartment, Rhae took my place. All five of us still have a deep, dear bond.)

Oh, and David loves Deidre, too. (In fact, they went on a date before he ever asked me out. Yes, I had a boyfriend, but it's still fun to tease him about it.)

Deidre is just plain awesome. She's a phenomenal pianist, jazz musician, and songwriter living in New York with her sweet husband Ben and their darling Mirabelle. She dreams big, she loves big, she is always thinking, always creating, and she brightens my world. We haven't been in the same city since her wedding five years ago (which is a sad sad thing), but I was thrilled to hear she was coming to SLC with her family, and we got a whole weekend together.

On Friday we hung out and talked and laughed, then went to the Gateway to let Mirabelle and Ben play in the water fountains.

Then last minute we decided to go to the Deer Valley Music Festival. It was a gorgeous night. The kids were happy. The music was fun. The thunder and lightning threatened, but held off just over the mountain.

It was a nearly perfect day.