I’d lost touch with a close friend of mine. She was my daughter’s first babysitter. I served cake at her wedding. Somewhere down the road we drifted apart & our lives became separate. There were some embarassing incidences with an ex boyfriend making rude comments to her husband about her. I never had the courage to talk to her about it or even apologize. I hoped time would heal it.
She has a son who’s nearly a year old. He’s been attending the infant building of the childcare center I worked at since he was 8 weeks old. I never got to bond with him as she did with my daughter when she was a baby. Then I left. I always had intentions of visiting her, but didn’t know how she would react to me. She’s never even met my husband, and we’ve been married for a year and a half. I still consider her one of my dearest friends. My daughter still attends the same child care center, and there have been a number of times when I’ve pulled into the parking lot, I’ve seen my friend leaving the building from picking up her son or pulling out of the driveway. I’d kick myself, thinking I had just lost an opportunity to talk to her.
Friday, I had this opportunity again. As I pulled in to the drive way, I saw her walk into the building. I parked and went in after her. She greeted me with open arms and gave me a huge hug. We chatted about things that were going on in our lives and I asked about her husband. Just a few weeks ago, she told me, he opened up a business with indoor batting cages. I always wanted to introduce him to my husband so I decided to pay him a visit, too.
He also greeted me warmly. I congratulated him on his new business, then I had an idea. I asked him how he’d like some publicity for his new business. He said he’d love it. I talked to him about the silent auction my company was having, and he thought it would be a great idea. He agreed to donate some gift certificates for batting time, and said I should also go down the shopping strip to the “doggy daycare” which plans on opening next week. He told me one of the owners is also the owner of a popular restarant chain in town, too. He knew they would love the opportunity. This was a blessing for someone not comfortable with the whole “soliciting” aspect of collecting donations. I’m like Phoebe tryng to sell toner.
Sure enough, the owners of the doggy day care and restaurants were more than happy to help, realizing the potential for publicity for their businesses. I went away from my little friendly visit with 3 potential donations for my company’s cause, and a bit of spackle for one of my most cherished friendships.
