Benny and Hill

I woke up this morning feeling grateful for my friends. I'll call them Benny and Hill, just for the sake of privacy. When I was a youth, friends were very hard to come by for me. I was painfully shy - so shy that a lady in church once told my mom that I needed to get counseling. In thinking back on this I can only surmise that I was always just afraid of making a fool of myself. It took a lot for me to be comfortable enough around someone to let my hair down and be fun. My siblings were my friends and that was enough.
Through the years my relationship with my siblings has gone south a bit - I'll have to do an anatomy of that in another post. I love them - I adore them - I miss them. But for whatever reason we just don't talk anymore on a regular basis.
While my sibling relationships have weakened, my need for friends has increased. I really - really - like to talk now. I have turned into a chatter box. Sometimes I can get downright obnoxious in a conversation and have to tell myself to shut up! Who would have thunk it back in the day when I was a mute?
It takes more than one mortal man (sorry, Steve, that's what you are, after all) to keep up with this need. That's where Benny and Hill come in. They are the sisters that I don't have anymore. What I like about these 2 friends is that they balance each other out so well.
They have a lot in common - each are beautiful, for instance. Part of why I love them I think is so that beauty will rub off on me. They are creative. You should see their respective homes!! Ditto on the rubbing off on me stuff. I walk with both of them - though not at the same time due to their schedules. I love each of them so much I have been known to wake up at 5:00 am to walk/jog/run 4 miles with Benny before she goes to work, then come home for a quick breakfast before I walk 3 miles with Hill after her kids go to school at 7:30. I just can't get enough of either of them!
That is where the similarities end, though.
Benny is talkative, a bit brash, with not a lot of self editing. If I had to compare her to a movie star, she would be Sandra Bullock. She loves to throw parties. She loves Halloween. She loves scary movies. I think their are only 2 movies out there that are so scary she would have to turn them off. She secretly watches R rated movies - when her kids aren't looking and if they are really good.
Hill is more reserved. She's like Grace Kelly. She cries, however, at the drop of a hat. She is very careful of her words and worries a lot after conversations if she said something stupid - which, of course, she never does. She epitomizes dignity. I was once walking with her in winter when she hit a slippery patch. When she fell down she did it so gracefully, that I thought she was sitting down on purpose! She hates Halloween and any movie with the F-word - even 1.
I love these women. And here's where they are perfect for me. Benny is the one I go to when all hell breaks loose. I could tell her any bad thing and she'll make me feel better. We will be friends forever because we know too much damaging information about each other. Hill is where I go with the victories. She loves to see me succeed. Not that Benny doesn't, too. It's just in a different way.
What I like about both these friends is this: I could call each of them saying, "Listen, I just killed my husband." They would immediately say, "It must have been justified. I'll be right there." Benny would bring eclairs, Hill would bring cleaning supplies.
Benny and Hill. We all need friends like these.