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Sunday, March 08, 2009

Suzanne Reisman

Throughout my time blogging, I've blogged about my fantastic husband and two wonderful kids. One of the nice things about blogging is not only does it allow me to record my thoughts and feelings (and be able to look up key events like when my kids walked so that I have that information for their doctors appointments), but it also allows me to give public recognition to the important people in my life. While, I have mentioned many times how great of a friend Suzanne is in passing, I realized a couple days ago that I've never written a blog post just about her.

Suzanne and I met on the public bus (The Wilbus as in Wilmette+bus for those of you in the Chicago area) on the way to school freshmen year in high school. She was a friend of a friend of mine. Through this friend I would occasionally see Suzanne. We also both did the school retreat called Snowball so I got to know Suzanne a little bit better. Our high school was huge, though, and we didn't have any of the same classes for the first two years.

Junior year, Suzanne and I were in the same physics class, and since we knew each other we became lab partners. I still remember that one of my first conversations with Suzanne was over the book Backlash. In addition to not liking physics and preferring to either exchange stories about the horrible toilet seats in our house or compete over who could draw a picture that most resembled our phyics teacher, we also had a lot of other things in common. Physics was a much better class because Suzanne was in it. We must have had a good time in our labs because several other students whom I knew from youth group joined us during the second semester. Instead of having a lab partner, I was part of a lab "team". Our phsysics teacher must have seen it all before, or perhaps he just held out the hope that we could just all help each other. Either way, he never said anything.

Suzanne and I remained good friends. When my high school sweetheart, Jim, and I broke up senior year. I was completely devastated. Suzanne endured many phone calls from me and came over many times in the middle of the night to eat ice cream with me and listen to my heartbreak. I later learned that my parents thought I was having those 2 am conversations by myself in the kitchen. Suzanne and I did have a huge fight my senior year. I can't remember what it was about, but by the time graduation rolled around we had patched things up. That's the only big fight we've ever had.

Throughout college we would talk frequently on the phone and visit each other. In fact, I was visiting Suzanne at NYU when I met the Big Giraffe. It was Suzanne whom I called when Jim got back in touch with me and Suzanne whom I called when I moved out to NYC after college and was very interested in the Big Giraffe. It was Suzanne who helped to set the Big Giraffe and me up, and it was Suzanne who got the Big Giraffe an extra ticket to the Human League/Howard Jones/Boy George concert that Suzanne and I were attending, when the Big Giraffe shyly requested it a couple days after our first date. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and is a godmother to my kids.

Don't get me wrong, Suzanne and I haven't always seen eye to eye on everything. In fact that is one of the reasons she's my closest friend. I always know that she'll be honest about what she thinks while supporting what I decide, on any issue. After I had my older son (OS), I was upset about the amount of weight I had put on and had yet to lose. She very frankly told me that I did weigh more than I used to but then listed how in every other way I was the same person so the weight really didn't matter. Then when we were walking in Times Square and some random jerk called me a fat bitch, I thought Suzanne was going to bolt after him and tackle him.

When I look at my two boys, I hope as all parents do that they have wonderful, successful lives. I hope they have loving partners, children if they choose, fulfilling jobs, and enjoyable hobbies. I also hope that they each have a "Suzanne" in their lives.

So what brought this on? Well, as I said it's overdue. I was also incredibly touched by the fact that Suzanne and her husband are gifting my boys with two weeks of camp this summer.

A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: There may be only one Suzanne, but everyone should have one in their lives.

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posted by Alex Elliot @ 5:41 PM   4 comments
4 Comments:

  • At 3/08/2009 10:54 PM, Blogger Suzanne said…

    This is very kind. Honestly, it is an honor and a privilege to be your friend. :) We've had some good times, and I am looking forward to more.

    As for camp, we are just glad that we can help. I hope that the boys have a great time.

     

  • At 3/09/2009 2:14 PM, Blogger Kami said…

    She sounds fantastic and you are right, everyone should have a Suzanne in their life :)

     

  • At 3/10/2009 9:15 AM, Blogger Count Mockula said…

    I'm lucky to have the same Suzanne, even though we're on opposite coasts. Very nice tribute.

     

  • At 3/16/2009 1:24 PM, Blogger Kate said…

    That's very sweet to honor a good friend like this. Most of my real-life friends aren't bloggers or even read my blog, so I don't think I could post about them! But maybe I'll give it a try, too. Everyone always needs to know when you're a good friend. Nice post.

     
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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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