“MY BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT”
………………..When I was in the 9th grade, 13 years old, I met……MARY DONNELLY………I had an instant crush on her,….more than a crush….I was in love……my very first love……We dated through out our junior and senior years in high school. I took her to our junior and senior proms. The photo to the left is of us at our senior prom…..and the photo at the upper right is her high school graduation photo…..She was an incredible artist, and super smart….She was on the honor roll society….We used to go everywhere together….in the summer to the beach…..to museums….and to Greenwich village in NYC….We went all the time with fake IDs, and we would go to underground clubs…..We both loved Dylan, and Joan Baez….It was the 60s….and the world was our oyster…..She went on to NYU with a scholarship, and was an art major, and I went to Parsons School of Design……In college we drifted apart, and our complicated lives took us on different paths……..She moved to California, and married Ralph Chandler…who was part of the famous Chandler family. Ralph was a brilliant photographer specializing in still life. He did many ad campaigns for different companies….They had two beautiful daughters……Claudia and Celeste….We connected again, and went to our first high school reunion together, and that was the beginning….again….of a life long friendship. Whenever Mary would come to NY for her “NY FIX” we would spend an entire day together, and when I went to California…I always made time to visit with Mary……We spoke on the phone all the time….sometimes for hours! She would tell me what was going on in her life, the good and the bad, and I would tell her what was happening to me….Other than Bobby Tirman, who was my very best friend, and who I also met in 9th grade….they both became my two BEST FRIENDS for life…..The photo at the lower right was taken at my house when we met for another high school reunion years later….Mary is wearing my clothes….,.I always took Mary to our reunions…..Mary and Jac became good friends…….Jac would sometimes joke with me and say….”I think maybe you should have married Mary”…..but things worked out just the way they should have…We both met the loves of our lives!….Mary loved Jac, because she realized how much Jac loved me, and how much I loved Jac…..Sadly…Ralph died when he was just 50 years old from kidney disease which he suffered with for a long time….so Mary became a young widow with two young children….I comforted her when Ralph passed, and she comforted me when Jac passed……A month didn’t go by without us speaking at least 2 or 3 times….Mary had diabetes from when she was 10 years old……and had many set backs through out her life…..Mary became very ill in her late 60s….All those years suffering from Diabetes took its’ toll…….Mary was hospitalized…..From her hospital bed she asked her caregiver, Kai, to call me. I had no idea she had suddenly gotten so sick….We spoke for a while, and told each other how much we loved each other, and how much we meant to each other…..She said she was tired, and was it all right if we spoke another time…..I said sure…….Kai called me a few hours later, and told me Mary had passed, and that I was the only one Mary asked to speak with…..I was devastated, but I was also happy that I got to speak to her that one last time……she sounded so good over the phone……Last week….out of the blue…I got an email from Claudia, her oldest daughter…She said she was going through her mom’s Christmas ornaments, and would I like to have some….I said I would love them, but only if she and her sister could part with them….Yesterday a box arrived. I totally forgot about my communication with Claudia….When I opened the box….there they were….Mary’s Christmas ornaments!…..ALL HIGH HEEL SHOES!….It was kind of ironic that of all her ornaments Mary must of had the ones I got….were the high heel shoes…..I guess Mary meant for me to have them, because her not wearing high heel shoes when we dated was a JOKE we shared…The funny thing is Mary NEVER wore high heel shoes when we dated, because we were the same height, 5’10”, and she didn’t want to be taller than me. Notice the silver flats she wore to our prom. She made the silver dress!…Mary was a fashion fanatic, and would always come to Anne Klein to buy clothes….I always gave her tons of stuff….she loved my clothes, and she loved my jewelry………The fact that Mary had a collection of high heel shoe Christmas ornaments bought a smile to my face….Later in her life, due to her diabetes she wasn’t able to wear high heel shoes…..I know in my heart Mary meant for me to have these Christmas ornaments, and somehow she got the message to her daughter, who I hadn’t spoken to or seen in years………I know Mary and Jac are having a good giggle!……..I will cherish these ornaments…..Mary’s ornaments….. for the rest of my life…..The best Christmas present!………….This will be my last post for the year…..I need a sabbatical….I need to isolate my brain……I need to chill, and give it a rest to recharge…..So…..HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
