As you may know I went on a business trip to Ohio. The last part of my trip I opted to stay a few extra days with my old college friend who lives in Wyoming, OH. This friend is very special to me. Perhaps because we were both out of state freshmen and we both took the same classes, we became fast friends back in the day at MSU.
We signed up for figure skating together. She was from Minnesota and I had come from Florida and Texas. I knew nothing about ice skating and she did. She encouraged me and we really had great fun in the class. I learned with her encouragement, that yes, I could skate. When the river that cut through campus froze over, she understood my desire to get up early in the morning and try out the ice and we did.
Coming from Florida as a competitive swimmer, I joined the swim team. I practiced every day after classes and competed on weekends. During one home meet I noticed friends in the bleachers cheering me on. She had gotten wind of the fact that I had an at home meet and would be at the field house swimming pool competing. She and those friends she had gathered together became my family during those four years away from home.
She minored in music. She encouraged me to sign up for a one credit university chorus class with her. I had sung in church choirs and once again she convinced me I was prepared enough to participate. I’ll never forget our walks together to practice on Wednesday nights. She was a soprano and I was an alto.
And something else. Although I had a summer birthday, June 24 to be exact…she remembered me with a card, letter or a “long distance” phone call.
She was also a fan of the book “The Velveteen Rabbit.” I had never heard of it but I remember she loved it and had it in her room. The book cover of the brown bunny with floppy long ears was a familiar sight. When we graduated she presented each member of our college family with a copy of the book. I will admit, I never read it during college but I did later, and I re-read it. These are some of my favorite conversations from the book by Margery Williams.
What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, …
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all,…”
Our friendship continued long distance across states. We married our respective spouses. We each had two children. She hosted a reunion for our college family after ten years and then again after twenty years. We experienced the deaths of our fathers, her mother…and tragically she lost her sister to cancer. I was resolved to not lose touch with this friend who had given her friendship generously to me. And lest I forget her love for the velveteen rabbit and what it represented, the book remained on my bookshelf…a book not to be tossed out, but to be treasured.
This past Father’s Day 2011, her family and I prepared a grilled feast of bar-be-cue ribs, a special mac and cheese recipe, fruit salad and a popular Asian cole slaw recipe. While we ate by the picture window that looks out to the back yard we were treated to quite a show. My friend said she has seen one rabbit in the back yard but never two, much less the show that unfolded as these two played and frolicked with one another.
For those of you who may have read my posts on “Serendipity, coincidences or life’s small miracles” I or II, I think last Sunday’s show can be added to those experiences that I marvel and wonder about. Two real rabbits…at play…
Unrelated to the rabbits…earlier in the day I sat at the computer and I saw out the corner of my eye a statue. But it wasn’t a statue. I reached for my camera and this is what I caught.
Georgette Sullins and Georgette Sullins’s Blog©, June 24, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Georgette Sullins and [Georgette Sullins’s Blog] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Love this! I’ve never seen two before, esp. cavorting about! Usually they just eat my garden in private 🙂
You know I was amazed to see my friend’s beautiful yard so beautiful knowing there are rabbits and deer munching about. Thank you for reading and commenting.
What amazing photos! I love seeing the ones of the bunnies playing.
Oh good…I’m glad you can tell they are playing. I have a video but need to upgrade to post. lol Thank you for visiting.
WOW! This one really touched my heart – what a beautiful friend & friendship y’all share … your wording brought tears to my eyes talking about all y’all shared & her encouragement/support … that’s a true friend in every sense of the word. And then the view from her window – even after hearing about all this at lunch – I could envision again through your wording. Now, I’m also going to have to read “The Velveteen Rabbit” again – awesome quotes. Thank you, Georgette, for your time & talent in writing your blogs. XO
It’s so weird to me that you don’t know each other…like great friend in high school should know great friend in college…only in my world…huh? Love you.
Oooops! And Happy Birthday today – the day of this post! 🙂
Did you see?…Mo-Jo checked in too. You have both made my day.
Shoot – meant to tell you the photos are priceless … I see they turned out really well.
So glad you can make them out! They were too fast and lively for my little Panasonic. Thank you for stopping by again.
We have wild bunnies in our yard all of the time but never two at a time. How fun to see them playing together.
It was an amazing show.
It’s nice that you and your friend from college have been able to stay in touch thoughout the years. Sounds like a pretty special friendship!
I treasure staying in touch even if it’s just Christmas cards some years. We just pick up from where we left off…. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
Having such a long-term friend is a treasure, Georgette. Loved the bunnies, and the deer. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. I know getting them loaded just where and how you want them is not always easy. Happy birthday!
Thank you for reading and commenting, Patti. I love hearing from you. Still wondering what happened in the Silence that Followed. : )
Happy Birthday. Sorry I’m a day late with my wishes – busy week! Hope you had a wonderful day.
Thank you Dianna. Have you noticed? I have posted 8 times in June. When I saw the rabbits I knew I had to share with you. You’re inspiring me.
So cute! I loved the “Velveteen Rabbit.” I had lots of stuffed animals–all with names and family relationships to one another–and I always imagined they would become real.
The really worn out ones are the most cherished, aren’t they?
Georgette this is wonderful! Makes me smile and weep at the same time. Touches me deeply. Thank you.
Oh my…thank you for understanding…just had to write this and I appreciate so much that you “get” it.
Belatedly, I hope your birthday was happy through and through!
When the river that cut through campus froze over, she understood my desire to get up early in the morning and try out the ice and we did.
What an image! I would definitely have wanted to try this out. It’s such a contrast with your relationship with water in Florida, but I guess the joy of water remains in all states. 😉
Those bunny pictures are so sweet. Sweet, too, is The Velveteen Rabbit. I read so much when I was young, but I only finally read this book when a friend sent it for Li’l D’s collection. I love it now, and understand better a couple of statements Ba.D. made while we were dating.
Thank you for sharing all these moments full of heart.
I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning to skate on weekends. The field house was far away, the ice rink cost money…but the river was there and it was free. Those skates hang in the garage now. Thank you for the b’day wishes. And so glad The Velveteen Rabbit still lives in children’s literature. Good choice your friend made for Li’l D’s collection.
We were introduced (or given a chance to reacquaint ourselves) with so many wonderful books by welcoming folks to send their favorite kids books if they felt compelled to send anything at all. It’s so neat to see Li’l D’s favorites shift with time, and I look forward to seeing him trying out some of the “older” books down the road.
These are great times to grow collections. I love gathering books with and for our grandson for bedtime or afternoon reading. Something else we did was “Questions”. You can purchase sets of questions age appropriate and they served as springboards for so much knowledge that as parents…grandparents…really take us back. Some of the “older” books need to be read over several sittings…and that’s okay…cultivating anticipation. Happy reading with Li’l D.
Oh, I recognize your face from blogland! 🙂 Thanks for dropping by my blog today and leaving a comment. I really appreciate it. Dianna is a dear, isn’t she?!
LOVE these little playing bunnies. How sweet and wonderful that must have been to watch. Nature provides so much beauty and laughter if we just stop and notice it.
I’m hoping we’ll all get some rain in Texas soon!
Amen to the rain wish and prayer. A blogging friend recently posted pictures of rain from her home in the midwest and teased me for “Googling for rain.” Whatever it takes. Thank you so much for visiting and commenting.