As Keith's hair stylist of at least 13 years, we learned more and more about one another on our monthly visits. He taught me about all the plants in my yard and how I was abusing them. He told me hilarious stories about his mother. She sounded like so much fun and he would genuinely smile and laugh at her fond memories from back in Iowa. Yearly he would get so excited for his sisters visits as he loved his family deeply and always said, "I'd live in Iowa if it wasn't for the weather. Do you know how old it gets there?"
Recently, though, my fondest memories were of his encouragement. I recently opened a second salon and frankly was scared. It a huge undertaking and a giant liability. Keith's encouragement was one of the reasons I pushed on.
So, you see, that's what friends do. We laugh about our own shortcomings, share our pasts, and encourage a future. And though, in our case, it was just once a month for 45 minutes, I can't help but feel like I lost a true friend. We all did.