Aug. 22 was my best friend Nancy Robinson’s 79th birthday. Nancy is no longer here to celebrate, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be celebrated.

I met Nancy in 1980 when we worked together at the New York telephone company. She was a caring person and all who knew her loved and respected her. We quickly became best friends and started spending time together. She was a widow and our children were similar in age. She had five kids and I had six and we constantly talked about the joys and sometimes pain that came with raising children.

Nancy was a friend that you could depend on. I remember calling her at 3 a.m. to go with me to the hospital because one of my kids was sick. Without hesitation she was by my side providing comfort and support.

Nancy and I always told each other the truth, even when the truth was hard to hear or say. Good friends will let you know when you are wrong or the situation is wrong. We tried hard to keep each other from making big mistakes. I remember I wanted to wear a dress to a party and Nancy said the dress didn’t look good on me. At first I was a little angry but after looking at it again, she was right. We both looked in the mirror and burst out laughing and then I took the dress off.

Nancy was an excellent cook and her friends and family loved to eat whatever she was making. Her specialty was peas and rice, and she could fry fish like no other. Sometimes we would get together and she would make peas and rice and fish and I would make greens and Italian sausage with mushroom sauce because that was her favorite. Those were great times.

We shared so many things, secrets, laughs and tears. There are so many memories of her that will never be forgotten. I will always love you and miss you my dear friend. Happy birthday.

Mary Simmons is a columnist for The K-V Dispatch. She can be reached at Aboxoflovekvd@gmail.com.