Bronx Girl Knits!

Top 10 Reasons Why Maribel is my Best Friend

10- Because Mr. Poloso sat us next to each other in 6th grade.

9- Because she will without hesitation go to a Motley Crue concert and a Duran Duran concert within 1 month of each other and not for one minute wonder why two women in their mid-thirties would do such a thing.

8-Because she spent the last two months doing the most challenging knitting project she has attempted to date so her other best friend's first daughter can have this when she is born:


believe me the doll, Izzy, is even more beautiful in person.

7-Because she taught me that to embrace your culture you needn't give up your individuality. There aren't a whole lot of 36 year old Puerto Rican women who can discuss, with great knowledge; heavy metal, Latin music, Wonder Woman episodes and their favorite pieces at the Met. But the most important thing she will tell you about herself is that she is a Boriqua.

6-Because when her brother was deathly ill and waiting for a liver transplant, she took charge and held her family together. Even though I know she got up every day wondering how the hell she was going to get through it. And when my mother was in the most difficult part of her illness she would come with me and just sit and lend me her strength.

5-Because even though both my parents are dead and I have no siblings, thanks to her I have 3 brothers, numerous nieces and nephews (especially Nina and Danny) and a mom who adopted me when I was 13 and many times made me feel safer and more welcome in her home than my own.

4-Because I got her a job at Barnes and Noble when I first became a manager (back when we were 18) and she is still there and is one of the best damn booksellers around.

3-Because she still doesn't get how amazing and wonderful a person she is.

2-Because she is strong, intelligent and independent and she lives life on her own terms, even if it's not always the life she expected to lead.

1-Because (yes it's a cliche but so true) she knows all my secrets and loves me anyway.

Happy birthday Bel, you have always made my life better just by being in it!

As Maribel is sadly blogless feel free to leave her birthday wishes in the commments, I will forward them to her.