Unlikely Friendships

This charming illustration by Joanie Stone is from a story I wrote about the unlikely friendship between a girl and a chameleon and the love they struggle to find for each other.

Today, I’ve been thinking about friendship and love. That gentle feeling you have when someone sees you-and knows exactly what you think and feel about nearly everything, because they think and feel nearly the same.

How we are often drawn to those that have the same opinions, views, and perspectives. Who enjoy the same things we do, and who don’t deviate much from what we believe in. It’s a good thing.

But then I wonder…how sometimes we walk away from those who don’t fill the checklist. How our paths were crossed with someone and perhaps we’ve missed an exquisite opportunity to learn, and grow…and love.

This chameleon came close to deserting the girl in this story. Afterall, she wanted to adventure when he wanted to nap. She preferred cookies (apparently a devote vegan) over grasshoppers for snacks. And if the story was a little longer, we would have learned that she writes super long texts and goes on and on when posting on social media. Not what the chameleon signed up for. At. All.

But 32 pages of exploring and growing help both characters see the value in their differences. And they come to respect, and to eventually… appreciate how it is actually because of their differences that their friendship can grow. Of course, like most children’s books, by the end these two have a strong friendship. They appreciate each other. And they love each other.

It reminds me of the gifts we can receive when we open our fragile hearts a bit wider.

I am pretty sure, even outside of picture books, it is another beautiful way to happy endings.

Where sunsets and moonrises are shared on a warm rock with nice company.

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Sunrises

In early June I had my younger brother John up to a cabin. He had come a long way to be there with me. Where he traveled from, the sun rose over the ocean every day and set near the mountains. He could see them both from his porch. Here, in northern Wisconsin, was a small lake, not an ocean. There were no mountains-just a tree line that was sprouting furled leaves not long after the snow melted. And there wasn’t a porch with a view. You had to walk, with warm slippers and hot tea, out to the end of a weather-worn pier to catch the sunrise. Which I did, while he was there. I think it was the most beautiful sunrise I experienced in 2023. I’ve learned that life is funny that way; the seemingly unremarkable moments-can become exquisite when you know…they are fleeting. Or when you face the harsh reality, that they are gone. I never made it to his porch across the world, when he was alive, to share the views he wanted to share with me. But I’m realizi...

Grateful

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Third Born

This girl was the third born. The one who stayed behind when her sisters were dropped off at school and she was yet too young. Who hung out with me in the woods having warm peanut butter sandwiches and apple slices on a log when her sisters were learning to read. She was the one who spent rainy weekends with me when her siblings went off to college. Who went away with me on spring breaks to warm beaches, and stayed home with me on snow days reading in front of the fireplace. She is the one who held my dad’s hand as he was dying. Who held me close and held me up when another recently left this world. Who went with me to pick up each of our pups. The one who was by my side as our house was built, the cabin picked out, the mill fixed up. She is steadfast. Gentle. Kind to her core. She’s lifetimes wiser than me. And she is the best friend anyone could ask for. Our life was blessed 22 years ago when she brightened the world with her birth. It has been glittering becau...

Sheri Mabry Inc

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