there it is, the double whammy; the alliteration of a weekday AND false promise that i’ll post something religiously each friday.  i won’t.  but some fridays i will try to come here and share a friend with you, because i’m always yammering about great it is to know such shiny, lovely people and how lucky i am to call them my friends, and i’m just realizing what a total gift that is, and one that should be shared. also, i’m secretly hoping it will make me more accountable. i imagine there will be no trouble with writer’s block when given the chance to tell you about these people i adore.

so with no further adieu, i give you…tara.my first muse.

we met freshman year of high school. i can’t say i was her biggest fan from the start, because my bff helen liked joe but joe liked tara and tara was soooo sultry with her long legs and dark eyes and too intimidatingly beautiful. but soon enough her giggle and warmth and earnest dear heart could not be refused for any boy drama, and we were fast friends. we could run to each other’s house in one minute flat.  we dedicated each other songs on “cryin’, lovin’ or leavin’.” shared our deepest secrets. adopted each other’s families. always found the most magical moments. and still do. as adults, she is the friend-that’s-more-sister. the one that (attempted) to be here for the birth of each of my boys. one they call auntie. the refuge in new york i could slip away to to remember who i am. without them. i loved climbing out her kitchen window to huddle and dangle our legs and solve the problems of the world from her brooklyn rooftop. loving to cook together, we have commiserated for hours over chopped garlic and with a good syrah. and while we’re terrible at keeping up (we go weeks, sometimes months without talking) not a beat is missed when we finally do. ours is a most dear and dependable friendship. a lifeline.

so some day i’ll find both the negatives and a scanner and share the images from a dozen years ago. back when each film frame mattered so greatly that a photo shoot was a big deal.  we would plan, and style, and execute photo sessions together with such verve. she my glorious subject, me falling hard in love with the notion of really capturing her on film. those were the sessions that made me fall in love with portraiture. blame tara.

anyway, until i find those pretty prints from so long ago, there are these images, from her last visit. and then i guess there’s no need to keep trying to describe her or why she is a muse of mine. she is right here.