A Shout-Out to Claire

Have you ever met someone and become instant friends? It's that kind of magical connection that starts with the eyes - and you feel as if you've known the person for several lifetimes? After your initial meeting, you may not communicate often, but when you do, it's totally from the heart and all about empathy and smiles. That's the kind of friend I have in Claire. I met her through our mutual close friend - her BEST friend and my DEAR friend, Char, who worked with me at Disneyland. You might think there is never a boring or difficult day working at Disneyland, but you would be wrong. On some of those bad days, Char and I would have lunch in the Cast Cafe and she would tell me stories of the outrageous adventures she shared with Claire when they were younger and working together at another big corporation in Southern California. The stories made me laugh and afterwards, it was easier to go back to the office and confront a grumpy guest.

When I finally met Claire, I felt as if I'd known her my whole life. She had brought her young son to Disneyland to visit "Aunt Char" and I stopped by their dinner table at one of the Disneyland Hotel restaurants for a brief visit during my "Manager on Duty" shift. Claire was as cool and genuinely attractive as Char had portrayed her - intelligent, articulate, perceptive, pretty and funny.

During those Cast Cafe lunches with Char, when she shared about her experiences with Claire, I told her about my adventures with my lifelong best friend and cousin, Dru. Dru brought her daughter, Shannon, to Disneyland one day and Char enjoyed visiting with them. It followed that Char and I decided it would be great fun to arrange a girl's weekend someday with the two of us and Dru and Claire.

We finally scheduled our girl's weekend about a year after I left Disneyland and moved to Denver. We met in Las Vegas and stayed at the Imperial in a comp suite that Char was able to arrange for us. We had the most amazing itinerary - seeing Danny Gans perform at the Stratosphere, tickets to the Cirque du Soleil's Mystere show at Treasure Island and a fabulous Sunday brunch at Bally's. What I remember most about that weekend is the nonstop laughter - just "old girls gone wild" cracking each other up to the point of tears, be it at the bar playing quarter video poker, checking out the old dudes checking us out, or telling really bad jokes after "lights out" bedtime and not being able to sleep all night because our faces hurt from laughing. It was awesome.

We never did another chick's weekend like that; but we should have. We got together at "big occasions" like Gary's and my wedding in La Quinta, CA and Char's mom's memorial service in Fountain Valley. Char, Claire, Dru and I were still able to giggle and care about each other as if there had been no time in between visits.

Today, Claire is dancing with that devil called cancer. Her husband, son and family are taking care of her at home in Northern California and Char, who lives in Texas now, is there in spirit and will be there in person soon. Dru and I simply pray for her. We send loving energy and support, and yes, we cry a little because we wish we had spent more time with Char and Claire over the years.

Girlfriends are a gift greater than any sweet but corny email chain message or poignant magazine article can convey. Please don't lose sight of that, if you are blessed with good friends. Cherish your girlfriends and let them know how much you love them.

I LOVE YOU, Claire!