Day 9: BFF

On Saturday morning at 3:45am my friend Rebecca pulled up in her red Coexist-bumpered Camry.  She wanted to try a day of fasting and was coming for suhoor -- which already says a lot about this amazing woman I have the privilege of calling my best friend.We met on a walk along the canal, introduced by a mutual friend, about five years ago.  We’ve been walking – and talking – ever since.  On our first walk I was seeking her advice on how to start a freelance writing career; she’s an accomplished writer and has written for The Washington Post and several national parenting magazines.  I told her about a piece I had written about how my family came to America. She later read it, went on and on about it in her usual gracious way, and said to send it to the Washingtonian.  I would never have had the guts to aim that high.  The day the story was published, we took a long walk to celebrate.Rebecca started MoverMoms about six years ago to make it easy for busy families to give back to our community. She’s been at every service project ever since, hundreds and hundreds. She’s in Orlando now on vacation. I spoke to her yesterday and she’s already called area shelters to see if she can volunteer there.In a town of egos, Rebecca’s the most humble person you’ll meet; in an age of self-indulgence, she’s all about down-to-earth compassion; in a world of ‘what’s in it for me’, she asks ‘how can I help you’.   She’s the real deal.We ate oatmeal tossed with blueberries and raisins, and a green shake of kale and cucumber. We laughed and shared stories into the early morning – but saved our next walk for post-iftar.Day 9; Gratitude 9: Rebecca