Is there anything sweeter in the world than a friend who celebrates when you celebrate, weeps when you weep, and listens when you need to talk. Pat Kolon is that kind of friend. On Friday I visited her and we started by sharing what's been going on in our lives. I then received a marvelous massage, followed by a delicious dinner including fresh asparagus from the garden. After dinner I showed her my newly published "Falling Into Place" Blurb book, the one I hope to present to book publishers for their consideration at the Look3 Photo Festival in June. Her reaction stunned me. She cradled the book in her arms and tears welled up in her eyes. She said, "Your baby has been born!"

Pat has been with me from the start of this self portrait project. She's also listened to all my stories about the ongoing saga that was the "Road Trips" blog and is now Burn Magazine online. Pat drove with me to New York in October and April for photography-related meetings with David Alan Harvey, my mentor on this project. She even attended a slideshow/fiesta at his Brooklyn loft in October. In short, she's followed this leg of my journey as an always-understanding companion.

So yesterday Pat held my "baby" in her arms and wept with joy. And then she went through it page-by-page noting things I'd never noticed in several of the photos and carefully reading every word of the text. Her sighs and smiles and murmurs were like music to my soul. All the months of hard, often solitary, work washed away and in their place was left the feeling that it had all been worth it.

What a friend.