I have friends again!

I have been doing pretty well, making many new friends through the Brain Injury Association. 

Two weeks ago, I went to the Sprout Film Festival with my first new friend. She is so smart and so strong and like me, was totally clueless about how bad things had gotten at her job before she left. 

The first time I met her, I tried to explain that I used to be smart. 

She said, I know, me too. 

I said, "No, I mean really smart. I went to Harvard." 

"I went to Yale," was her reply and with that we bonded. 

I wonder if we could start an Ivy League brain injury group? 

Last Saturday, I had so much fun with another one of my new friends. She is a super talented artist with a wicked sense of humor. She so cracks me up. We are the same age and she also grew up up in the city. We have a lot more in common but it's not worth delving into here. Anyway, we went to a rummage sale and found treasures. She kept singing, "We don't need no _____" to the tune of Pink Floyd's The Wall, as it got later in the day and I was pondering the purchase yet another unnecessary acquisition. 

"We don't need no Ikea curtains." "We don't need no vintage microscope."

Then out of the blue, she turns to me and says, "So, I guess you sister is in a lot of trouble." 

I said I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Her husband is a lawyer, right?" 

Yes. 

"Well, I heard on the radio this morning that he is her lawyer, that she was involved in some kind of protest, and that she got in a lot of trouble. He's going to be defending her. Her husband."

I started to freak out because we joke all the time so I had to make sure she wasn't kidding. I told her she was scaring me and that I hadn't heard anything. 

"Was she arrested?" I asked. 

"I think so, maybe, I might have heard it wrong, though..."

At this point I called my hubby and asked him to Google it. He called me back and explained the whole story. Apparently, my brother-in-law was defending some protestors opposing a new stop and search thing. (I think.) The judge found out who my sister is and wanted to her. Apparently, it made big news that my sister gave him a piece of her mind, telling him she disagreed with his ruling against the protestors. 

My friend felt bad, I think, and said she only mentioned it because she thought I would have already known what happened. I've been there. I totally understand and it didn't bother me. I am okay because I see a part of me.

Last night, another new friend took me to see a play. I guess I would be raving about how great it was if I had not fallen asleep in the middle. It was good though. It was about head injury in the N.F.L. and what they are starting to learn. On the way there, I was telling her about a misunderstanding I had recently with a family member. My sweet, thoughtful, ever positive friend exclaimed as I finished the story, "What a fucking bitch!" Immediately, she back-peddled a bit, recognizing that her reaction was slightly over the top. Well, those of you who know me understand why I relate to that. It only endears her to me more.

It is really a blessing to be friends with these ladies who are smart and funny and kind and creative but who also have a brain injury. We get each other and laugh about it. I still say I'm sorry a lot. But with them, they know I mean it. I love you guys!