“The most sophisticated people I know – inside they are all children.”

— Jim Henson

I do believe that it is fitting that Jim Henson should share his birthday with Terri St. Cloud.  I think his inner child would have loved to meet hers at the playground and find a spot under the slide where they could talk about their dreams.  Dreaming is one of the things ter does best; and what makes her truly special is the way she shares those dreams with others and awakens the dreamers in them as well.

I was trying to remember when it was that I first met terri; and then I found myself laughing right out loud, because I realized that I never have met her.  That is, I haven’t met her in person — face-to-face — but we have been friends — heart-to-heart — for about a year and a half.  (Really?  Only 18 months?  That seems impossible!)  I was introduced to terri by her children.  No, I don’t mean her three sons, who also seem like old friends.  I am talking about the children she gives birth to with brush and pen — her Bone Sighs.

I had gone to visit my brother in Shepherdstown, WV, and we were exploring the lovely little shops that line German Street.  We strolled into one called On The Wings of Dreams; and as I meandered toward the book section, I heard it.  ”Psst!  Over here!”  It was the color that first caught my eye, but it was the words that touched my soul.  I had no cash with me to make a purchase, so I pulled a scrap of paper out of my pocket and scribbled the web address so I could have another look when I got home.  I signed up for terri’s daily bone sigh email and began enjoying the anticipation of their arrival each morning.  On September 8, 2009, I awoke to this one:

“ they plowed down her trees and she wept.
they forgot to take the sky tho.
the clouds became her refuge. ”

~terri st. cloud

That’s it, I thought.  It’s one thing to be an inspiration, but it’s another thing entirely to go peeking in people’s windows.  I simply had to respond; and so began the conversation that continues to this day.  Isn’t it funny how people we touch with our hands are not always the people who touch our truth?  For eighteen months I have had the pleasure of watching this sister of mine overflow with the love, the compassion, the creativity, the playfulness, and the deep and soul-searing connections that she forges with her world.  We have laughed, we have cried, we have held each other close when a hug was needed.

Today we celebrate!  We celebrate life — terri’s life — and honor the 50 years she has walked the planet. I welcome my younger sister to the second half of her life — the one where dreams grow even stronger, where they mellow and ripen with age, where they become more and more sweet.  I celebrate the sort of friendship that is marked by 18 months on a calendar but transcends the limitations of time and space.  Only fifty years?  Gee, ter…it seems like I’ve known you forever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR TERRI!!!

it called to me

a splash of color

some well-chosen words.

it touched my soul

and opened my heart

and called me to play,

grabbing my threads

and weaving them in.

a marvelous thing

was woven that day.

friendship.