Friendship Safari

Jill

Let me introduce you to Jill, the other half of the Tanzanian adventure. We will both be posting to this blog so you will get all sorts of perspectives! Lyn

There are certain people who seem to come into our lives for a reason, and my friend Lynda is one of them. We met in Grade 6 when I was the shy kid who had just moved from the big city to a small town, and Lynda was the outgoing kid who decided we were going to be friends. Turns out, I hit the friendship jackpot. For more than 40 years Lyn has been my confidante and my guide, blazing a trail that has helped me navigate almost every one of life’s turning points – from driving cars to dating boys, from becoming a mother to losing a mother.

When Lynda returned from her trip to Kenya a few years ago, I could see that it had a profound impact. She said she would be going back to Africa, and planted the dream that we would make the journey together.

There’s something about turning 50 that leads you to stop putting things off, and start saying “yes” to the things that really matter. So that was my answer when Lynda decided it was time to make the dream of her return trip to Africa come true, and asked me to be a part of it. (Or maybe it was more like “Yes, but I should tell Walter first, since this will pretty much wipe out the family vacation fund.”)

Thanks to an incredibly supportive husband and family, I’m now about two weeks away from the journey of a lifetime – a journey I never imagined I’d be making at all, let alone with my treasured friend. I’m nervous, excited, open to possibility. I’m wishing I could remember more words in Swahili. Good thing we have the long flight to Tanzania to brush up on our vocabulary. Perhaps we’ll discover a word to describe a friendship that’s taken us from goofy Grade sixers to where we are today. That is, if we can stop giggling at my hoodie pillow.

Jill