Painting With My Friend

Last week my friend Julia, who has been my friend longer than anyone else I've met since I moved to Missouri, called me.  She asked me if I wanted to trade a day of work for a day of work.  Now, this is something we used to do a lot when we were younger and our kids were small.  One of us would go to the others house and we would take on some big chore and share the work.  Often, we were living in rental houses back then and if we moved into one, we wanted it clean and spotless, which, in most cases, did not start out meeting our standards of cleanliness.  We both lived in some old farm houses which had a lot of that old high gloss paint on lots of heavy wooden trim work.  Man, we were scrubbers!!  We would break out the TSP and wash, wash, wash and talk, talk, talk and laugh, laugh, laugh. 
I liked Julia the very first time I met her.  She was in distress and although I won't go into it here, I knew this about her right way.....She loved her kids above all else, she was honest and would tell it like it is regardless.  She is still that way and I'm glad for it!
Julia and I have always stayed in touch over the last 30 something years.  Sometimes we would go a year or more without talking, but when we did, we just picked up right where we left off.  We've seen each other through marriages, divorces, relationships that failed, family and friends that we felt failed us, good times, bad times, lots of moves, you name it.  Julia probably knows more about me than anyone.  We've lived in the same town, different towns, she moved to Colorado, I moved to Montana....doesn't matter.  We hook back up every time.  Once, when I went on a vacation to Colorado, I called Julia, who lived in a different part of the state and she came right to where I was and we had a wonderful afternoon visit. Now, we are both back in Missouri and although we don't see each other as much as we'd like, we're still as good as friends as ever.
So when she called and wanted to trade a day of work for a day of work.....it was an easy "yes"!  I went over to her house yesterday and we painted her hallway and bathroom.  It was so much fun!  We still work well together and there was much talking and laughing.  I can't wait until she comes out here and helps me with some project.  It will be another day of fun that would otherwise have seemed like work.
Here is a picture of my friend Julia.....she works at Factory Furniture Outlet and if you are looking for furniture, in the Springfield area, please ask for Julia there....she'll treat you right and you might even make a new friend!