remember your old friend who loves you.

my best friend, mentor, gossip conspirator, second mother and spiritual advisor passed away 7 years ago today. there isn't a day that goes by that i don't miss her and pretty much talk to her on the regular. she hears me. 

i like to re-read some of the many opening night cards & letters she wrote to me. each one is profound and beautiful. 

at the end of a beautifully written and inspired card syd wrote when i left utah for the big city to attend NYU, she wrote

THE RULES: 

1. always call after an audition. (i did- i do)
2. let me know far enough in advance so i can get tickets to your opening. (she never got to see me on broadway..)
3. the news doesn't always have to be good. (it mostly wasn't... what a dear shoulder to cry on.)
4. you have to keep me up to date with the "stories" of your life. (i did. we'd talk for hours a day.)
5. you owe me a quilt and i expect to collect at christmas. (i still owe her that quilt-she and i made one of all my old show t-shirts. what a treasure.)
6. you don't always have to be the Dad (inside joke).
7. my email, phone, home phone, school phone, home email, cell phone, adrian's cell, katie's cell, heather's pager. (loved that!)
8. see jeckyll and hyde for me. (i did.)
9. ok, you can skip that last one (she loved that wildhorn and i became such great friends).
10. save time in April for me (i have new clothes). (i did. we had a grand time seeing theatre, etc..)
11. remember your old friend who loves you. (i do. always. i miss you greatly.)
12. time doesn't matter. late night communications are great. (she always took my wee hour calls)
13. savor new york for me. (i did. i do. nyc is the greatest city in the world!)

i think (most of ) the rules apply to us all. 

i am so lucky to have been loved by such a wonderful woman. 

i remember you, old friend, and i love you to the moon and back. 

i hold you in my heart.