Monday, March 30, 2009

My neighbor Jo moved out this weekend. When she told me last week that she was moving, I was happy for her to be moving on in life. But the reality of her not being next door didn't hit until I got home from a weekend away and saw her blinds up, boxes packed, things moved and space empty.

She was there when I got back from San Jose in September. She was a voice of reason and soothing when shit hit the fan. Together we gathered rescue equipment, thinking that Ryan had fallen off his bike and we were going to be looking for him on a trail. She, along with Guy and my mom, was there when a policeman at the North Seattle precinct conveyed the news.

Though she's only lived there for three years, I feel like we've been sisters forever - joined through experiences. She successfully completed her PhD and together we protected my homestead when it rained so hard the gutters overflowed, nearly flooding the basement, again. We pioneered through buckets and buckets of blueberries - creating a winter's worth of jam and frozen berries. We shared lots of laughs and stories in the middle of our shared driveway.

Thank you Jo for being such a great friend and neighbor. Bathroom slipper visits will be missed and seeing you getting on your bike each morning to commute downtown. I know you're only 10 blocks away - but having you next door was such a comfort. You are such an incredible strong woman and I'm so lucky to have had you next door!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I went to grad school with Jo. She's awesome! I can see why you'd miss her.