My New Friend

Do you ever meet someone and just feel an instant connection with her?  Where even though you’ve only known her a month or a day or an hour you already know you can just talk to her about anything?

I recently met such a person.

She randomly appeared in my life.  And right away, I was drawn to her.

She is laid back and funny and nonjudgmental, but also ballsy and smart and a straight shooter.

We aren’t BFFs. We haven’t ever really hung out together. I’ve only known her for a couple months.

She actually swims on the masters swim team I coach. And I’ve only ever seen her at practice. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 1:00.

She wasn’t a competitive swimmer.  She’s not competitive in general, really.

She’s a newly retired teacher who is about twelve years older than me.

She swims because she likes the exercise. And I think she likes the group.

It’s a great group of people I coach every Tuesday and Thursday. I love them all, really.

But most of them are a little bit more competitive and intense than my new friend.

So I’ll give everyone a set to swim, and my new friend will swim at her own pace. And when she needs a break, she’ll hang out at the wall for a little bit while everyone continues to swim.

And that’s when we have our conversations.

Sometimes we talk for a minute.

Sometimes we’ll talk for five. It’s never a super long conversation.

But every week I learn a little bit more about her or discover another thing I really like.

My new friend went on a trip to India and Thailand in January, and she was gone for about three weeks.

I missed seeing her at practice.

I didn’t particularly think that she missed me. I didn’t know if she enjoyed our impromptu conversations at the end of the lane every Tuesday and Thursday. But something was missing for me when she wasn’t there.

I didn’t realize it until she came back today.

I was so happy to see her! Everything was just a little bit brighter.

She walked over to me and handed me an envelope and a little cloth bag.

“I brought this back for you from Thailand,” she said to me.

I immediately started crying. I was blown away.

I haven’t received a “just because” gift from someone in a very long time. Longer than I can remember, actually.

In one of those do-I-open-it-now-or-wait-until-later moments, I put it on the table.

“Open it!” she said to me.

I opened it.

“It’s an ankle bracelet,” she said.

I haven’t worn an ankle bracelet in years.  I used to LOVE anklets back in the day.

“You’ve got tats,” she said. “You seem like the ankle bracelet type.”

When my new friend was in  Thailand — or India — (I can’t remember exactly where she was) she posted a video where she was  petting a baby elephant. Not like in a zoo, but in an elephant sanctuary or something.

I couldn’t accurately describe the amount of joy she got from just loving on this baby elephant.

But I was jealous.

(And I immediately added pet a baby elephant in India (or Thailand) to my bucket list.)

My new anklet was a circle of elephants.

I cried some more.

We hugged.

“Open the card,” she said. “Might as well get all the crying out in one shot.”

I opened the card.

Dear Susie,

Elephants are good, strong, gentle beings — much like you. Also, they are good luck. Will bring you meal and treats after your surgery.

Love you —  (New Friend)

CUE WATERWORKS.

I gave her another hug and regained my composure.

And then my new friend hopped in the pool and started swimming.

And I put on my new ankle bracelet.

What a gift this person is.

And even though we only talk a few minutes a week, I’m really really glad my new friend is back.