The Friend Project - Rachel

The Friend Project continues, and this time I want to tell you about my friend, Rachel. Where do I even begin with Rachel? I'm reminded of the chorus of a song from "The Sound of Music" that goes....

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

How do you find a word that means Maria?

A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her

Many a thing she ought to understand

But how do you make her stay

And listen to all you say

How do you keep a wave upon the sand"

There is no way to define Rachel. She is my live-out-loud, do-what-you-love, be-yourself friend. And she's so special!

I met Rachel at dog training class-I was there with Roscoe, and she was there with Lucy. We got to know each other better outside class through both of us feeding our dogs raw. When she became engaged to Patrick, I did their engagement photography session and then had the privilege of photographing their wedding. She was the star of my Runaway Bride blog post that you can see here: https://www.adriannekimbrell.com/post/runaway-bride

We were able to get together a couple weeks later for a redo wedding portrait session that you can see here: https://www.adriannekimbrell.com/post/second-chance And by this time, a friendship was blossoming.

Rachel loves to garden, tells the most animated stories, is incredibly smart, and can do most anything she sets her mind to. She's taught herself to do stained glass art in the last year, and she's getting very good. She's also the person I was going to trust to take care of Kevin while we were in Montana if he had not yet been released. (It turned out to not be necessary, but she was all in.) On that particular note, she came over one day to meet him, and to my surprise because squirrels are one-person animals, he took right to her. I posted about it here: https://www.adriannekimbrell.com/post/kevin-s-very-busy-day

Rachel is a nurse, and she's the first person I talked with about my cancer suspicions. She's a great listener, and she's been so supportive in the days before and since my diagnosis. Our time together though, is not spent talking about cancer. Nope, there's too many other important things we talk about & do--like her teaching me to make my own kefir and me teaching her to make cranberry powder from fresh cranberries and her showing me her garden & art projects and me showing her my bucket garden & orchid growing setup. You know, important stuff.

Rachel inspires me to be authentic, to learn & do the things that bring me joy, to laugh loud & heartily, and to give people some grace & the benefit of the doubt. She is an original, a one-of-a-kind, and one of the most "real" people I know. She's also tall. In these photos, I am wearing heels, and Rachel is not.

My beautiful friend...

I can't share this post without sharing Rachel & Patrick's fabulous pups, whom I also love. This is Bruno & Lucy.

Is it Bruno or Earl Hickey?

I love this girl! She has the most wiggly butt and sweet kisses. She's loved, and she knows it.