At the top of my gratitude list today is my dear friend, Farah Jaquith.  October 1st is her birthday and she is not within an arms reach of a birthday hug or kiss for me. Farah is fulfilling one of her dreams to teach and live in another country. She is celebrating this birthday in Taiwan!

Friends are the family we choose. Farah is in my inner circle of friends. We met through teaching together at WOS back in 1997 I think….so we are celebrating about 20 years of knowing each other. We became close when she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Farah and I were taking classes beyond our masters.  One of the classes we both were taking was quite a distance away. Farah asked me to hop on for the ride. It was the first time I had ever had one-on-one time with a cancer patient. She was open, calm and easy to talk with about her situation. When I was diagnosed in 2001, I asked my another of my close work buddies, Pat, to ask Farah to come see me. Farah came instantly all the way down to NYU after my surgery. And so it began…

Today, Farah and I  cannot have our annual birthday Cosmo toast together but I have put together a birthday slideshow. The music I chose is The Dance of Life…..Enjoy!