Marigold
October 13, 2011 
First of all, who is Marigold?
A couple things... Marigold's name is not really 'Marigold'. I'm not going to tell you her real name, but I will tell you why I decided to start calling her 'Marigold'...
A couple years ago, she won a trip to The Pioneer Woman's ranch, and she could bring a guest. Being a fellow PW reader, she chose me. We squealed like little girls on too much Fun Dip. Somewhere on the trip between Colorado and Oklahoma, we joked about PW's friend, whom she refers to as 'Hyacinth'. This is what spurred me to come up with the flower nick-name for Marigold.
She doesn't really like it. But it kind of stuck. At least here on my blog, it did.
I don't call her 'Marigold' in person.
To tell you the history of my relationship with Marigold would be to tell you the history of... well... me. She is my niece (my oldest brother's daughter) but she is a year older than I am, so she's been around since the dawn of my time.
Marigold and her sister are the stuff of my legends. Those childhood memories of sunlit summer days, riding horses across the prairie, skinny-dipping in the river, and giggling until I peed my pants (yes... I admit... this happened) encompass my days with Marigold and her sister, who I like to call 'Sunflower'.
(Again, not her real name. But you probably figured that out already.)
I should probably launch into a series of stories about our adventures together as children. Maybe someday I will. (Winter project?)
We've lived close, we've lived far, but we've never been far apart at heart. We've talked each other through the fun, the crazy, the life-changing, the weird, the hard, the sad, the... The everything. We agree, we disagree, we agree to disagree, and no matter what, we remain 'we'.
It's a straight-up blessing to have friends like that.
We got to see Marigold and Sunflower, and their hubbies and kiddos in August when we went to Nebraska. I was so happy to see them all I felt like my heart might burst. Over the weekend, Marigold and her littles came for my mom's 80th birthday party... When we live so far apart, it's such a treat to see them twice within a couple month's time!
I was there when this one was born. Sweet memories. I so clearly remember her chubby little cherub face. Now she's a leggy blonde.
I wasn't too far away when this one was born either. Now she's the best conversationalist in the five-state area.
Marigold and the girls stayed at our house for a couple of nights. They haven't been here since we moved back to Minnesota. They were here alone a bit on Sunday morning when we were at church, and she informed me that she snooped around my house during that time. I felt completely at ease with this concept. She knows my heart... Why not know what's inside my cupboards too?
We're close.
It's good.
Family
Reader Comments (4)
That is wonderful. I remember well your posts about being on PW Ranch. So awesome. I was so happy for you. And little Peaches was LITTLE!
I even posted about it on my blog post today. I was so stinking AWESTRUCK!
I can't imagine having such a close relationship. They are both beautiful women. You have been blessed to have family as best friends.
Were your cupboards clean? If not, did she clean them?
True to my anal retentive nature... Yes, my cupboards were clean. And, had they not been clean, true to her non-anal retentive nature, no, she would not have cleaned them!
still do not like Marigold, florally speaking, but I do feel honored to have a blog post dedicated to me. we had a great visit, albeit too short, and we must get together as soon as possible again! your cupboards were impressive, and I'm still not sure why I had the urge to peruse them. I was surprised by the variety of lotions you possess. you are so right about my lack of compulsion to clean... love you lots xoxoxox
I was unaware that I possessed an irregular variety of lotions. Had you not looked in my cupboards, I would have never known. I will have to look into this further. ;)