Left my heart in San Francisco...

California will always have a very special place in my heart, and even though it's a bit of a stretch to call me a "California Girl," I'm proud to say that I was at least conceived there. Can't that count a little? Oh, was that too much information? Sorry...

Anyhow, I lived with my family in the breathtakingly gorgeous Monterey, CA (seriously, it's breathtaking- if you haven't visited, plan a trip) for over six years growing up, spent the first three years of my marriage in sunny San Diego, and spent two years in between as a grad student in incredible San Francisco- the city that I happen to consider to be one of the most beautiful cities in our great country. I think of CA with some very fond memories and recently had San Fran quite prominently on my mind as I tackled two very special items on my list:

"See a concert in Carnegie's Stern Auditorium"



"Send flowers to someone special for the simple reason of I'm thinking of you "

At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, I had the opportunity to study flute with Tim Day, who I respect deeply both as a musician and a person, and there I also met two of my dearest and closest friends - my sweet Sarah and the very unique Stephanie.

Appropriately priced "student tickets" made it possible for us to hear the fabulous San Francisco Symphony in Davies Hall on numerous occasions and in my humble opinion, that group is as good or better than most any other I've had the pleasure to hear. Tim is now their principal fluter so boy was I tickled when I saw that they were coming to the Big Apple to play at Carnegie Hall about a week ago!!! It was a fabulous concert- Tim ended up only playing in one piece, but I was thrilled to see him afterward and get to talk to him for a bit. And what about the hall? Well, it is just gorgeous. Definitely worth the hype, and one more item on the list that I hope will not be a one time occurance!!!

Back to my SF gals - the three of us were pretty inseparable for those couple of years and they were both bridesmaids in my wedding. Steph is still out in CA and Sarah now lives in Boston where she is quite the "big wig" at a major flute company. Sarah and I always just pick up wherever we've left off, no matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other, but this recent lull in our relationship was just way too long!!! We saw each other back in February at the New York Flute Club Flute Fair (yeah, bet you want to go to that, huh?) and haven't talked since! What is wrong with us??? Ugh, the busyness of life can so easily be to blame, but the excuse is unacceptable none-the-less. So I figured who better to send a bouquet of flowers to, just to let them know I'm thinking of them, than my precious Sarah!

Now that we're back on track, I've been thinking a lot about those close friendships I have with several incredible women who I just never get to talk with enough. Last Sunday's sermon was on friendships, in fact, and the invitation to truly let people in and live life with them. So what does it truly mean and what does it really look like to "live life" with someone other than your spouse? How quickly those friendships are the first to slide when life takes over... I'm not sure how to show these people know how much they mean to me (create more time in my life for more phone calls/emails/letters? I'm open to suggestions- all comments welcome!:), but I'm hoping that the realization of its importance can at least be the first step.