My memories of Tiffany Anderson are so very vague, and yet very important to me. This thank you note will be more an impression she left on me than an actual memory, like many of  the others.

She lived far away from me, as all children in my Montessori school did, and yet she was very important in my life. Actually, as these things happen, my mom ended up marrying someone who lived on the same street as the Andersons used to (Rutherglenn, in Houston). Every time I drove by what used to be her house, I felt a moment of joy.

I don’t remember what we talked about — we were friends, as you can see, when I was very young. I remember laughing with her, but I’m not sure if that is because every photo I have with her we both look to be spilling over with laughter. I remember that she had beautiful, curly hair. I don’t remember that she was a different color than I was — like they say, you have to be taught that people are different. I just knew she was a wonderful, happy, funny friend, and that I felt at home in her house.

I specifically remember her house, which had a long, narrow living room, and a long hallway with her room on the left near the back. I remember her mother laughing at our antics, and her mother’s beauty. I guess my parents took her (or her parents took me, but surely I would remember that?) to the beach with us, because this photo shouts BEACH HOUSE to me, but the details are lost. My thank you note is: thank you for teaching me to laugh. Thank you for teaching me how to be a friend. Thank you for letting me be safe. I hope you have a happy and light-filled life.