My daughter is very lucky. She has many friends and they are all wonderful people. I care for all of them, but she has one friend that is her special best friend, Alicia. Alicia is the sweetest, most loving, and caring friend and I love her very much, so much that I consider her my second daughter.

They met when they were six years old and in first grade. They have been very close since and their friendship deepens year after year. Alicia has the most wonderful sense of humor. She brightens up the room when she enters it with her contagious smile. She is also my daughter’s most bouncy friend. Yes, Alicia can be very hyper. She is my Tigger. That is who she is and how she is loved.

I cannot write about special memories and not have plenty of stories of my other daughter. I will start with the famous “Jello” story.

I used to take care of her after school. I would let the girls have a snack that would not interfere with dinner. I thought Jello was a safe snack so I decided to buy some because I could not make it in time for when she got home from school. I bought every child’s favorite... cherry.

I should have realized that with Alicia safe is relative, and Jello is also a..... toy! Why did I give her a spoon? Eating Jello with their fingers must have been funny because my girls were having a wonderful time laughing and bouncing on the chairs. I also learned that day that Jello is stubborn. It refused to stay in the container and refused to be eaten by her. It kept falling on the table. It fell on the chair. It fell onto her clothes. It fell on the floor.

The next day I noticed specks of red on my white walls. What was that? A closer look proved to be.... Jello. That spunky, wiggly dessert found its way onto the wall!

A week later, the light was flickering. I looked up to give it the evil eye. What was that mark next to the light fixture? On the ceiling? No! Could it be? Yes, yes it was.

Last month Alicia told me, “You know, I've noticed that you haven’t served me Jello ever since I was seven.”

Sweetie, next time you come over the Jello will be waiting. You can paint my ceiling in specks of red anytime!

“...... and it suddenly turned into Tigger; a Friendly Tigger, a Grand Tigger, a Large and Helpful Tigger, a Tigger who bounced, if he bounced at all, in just the beautiful way a Tigger ought to bounce.”
~The House at Pooh Corner