I met LeighAnn when she hired my husband as the technical director for a show she was directing. I still remember the first time I saw her. It was in a rundown warehouse full of 4X8 stage platforms, tools, and paint. My first thought? “oh geez. my husband is going to be working side by side with that beauty?!?” When we left from that first meeting, my husband said, “well…what do you think?” I grinned…”She’s very nice.” “Is that all?” he asked. “She’s very pretty. What do you think?” He said…”we’ll kill each other, and if we don’t, we’ll put on an extremely good show.” That was the start of my friendship with LeighAnn. These are the things I’ve come to love about her over the years.
1. She’s very creative, not only in her music, but in her life as well.
2. She’s a risk taker.
3. She feels things deeply — not just the bad but the good as well.
4. She supports unconditionally.
5. She can take life’s hard knocks, and she’ll get right back up and be the stronger for it.
6. Her family comes first.
7. She doesn’t give up, not on people, not on life…and most certainly not on love.
8. Her God is the center of her being.
9. She’s one week older then me. (that’s just for LeLe)
10. Her humor is infectious.
11. She easily shares in my excitement - even if it’s not something she’d normally be excited about.
12. She understands how I feel about having a child, and about having more.
13. From the moment we left that warehouse, I knew a friendship was born. When I think of LeighAnn, I think of the greeting cards with the two little girls with their backs to the camera, hand in hand. She always walks beside me.
Each of the Sirens’ holds a place in my life and heart that is all their own. In the coming writings, I will discuss each. Both LeighAnn and Hilary have done something similar so check out their blogs. I am going to steal LeighAnn’s “top 13 list” for my format.
Today is about the Siren whose personality is most like mine. She’s the one I’ve known the least amount of time - a mere 10 years give or take a year or 2 - and we are attached at the hip. These are the things I love about Hilary.
1. Probably the most intellectual of the group, Hilary is a scholar. Her lyrics, thoughts, and opinions are always well thought out.
2. She makes me laugh.
3. She is a loyal daughter and friend.
4. She knows and understands my thoughts almost before I even think them.
5. She knows when to stand her ground…and when to compromise.
6. She writes beautiful music.
7. Her life is centered around her God.
8. She is very focused.
9. She has shared some of the most embarrassing times of my life and has kept them secret.
10. She gives of herself to family, friends, and strangers.
11. She loves my daughter as one of her own family.
12. She can disagree with me yet still remain hip to hip.
13. She is still one of my best friends, knowing all the good and the bad.
Sirens’ Song has been together since the mid-1990’s. We started out as 3 (myself, LeighAnn, and Marla) and called ourselves 3 Roses and a Sweet Pea. The sweet pea being Marla’s first baby. A year or so later, Hilary came to us and we’ve been going strong ever since.
In this day of groups breaking up and friends doing the same, people have asked me how it is that we stay together. Like all other groups we have our ups and our downs, and times we have differences of opinions or creative differences. However, our group politics are such that we all speak our mind with a gentleness; we all listen; and we are concerned about how the other 3 feel. The difference between us and other groups who haven’t made it as long is that we are a family. Families never give up on each other. Unconditional love and support are what we offer the other 3.
Our love of music brought us together…our love of each other and our friendship is what keeps us together.
For those interested in following a little closer to one of the Sirens,’ this is for you. LeighAnn started a blog a while back and has gently moved the rest of us to do the same. I don’t promise postings often, or that they will be as insightful as LeighAnn’s or Hilary’s. But I will give this a shot. I hope you enjoy.
