1. Muffy

The first time I met Muffy I was about 10 years old. She was the new girlfriend of my super-cool uncle, so I was very excited to meet her! We lived in New Jersey and she lived in California. Since I was visiting my Grandparents in California this gave me a rare chance to meet her.

I was sitting on the shag rug (did they have any other kinds of rugs in the 70’s?) when I heard a knock at my Grandparent’s door. It must be them!

Muffy stepped in and said “Don’t look, I have a surprise for you!” So I turned away as she fixed my long 70’s hair with a wooden hair claps she had bought it at a street fair just for me, and we found a mirror to admire the affect.

Muffy was full of surprises. From her long, wild hair to her colorful, hippy cloths to her big, wide heart to her very frank language. This woman spoke her mind. Which was something the women in my family definitely didn’t do. I was smitten!

So why has this moment stuck in my mind all these years?

• Was it the excitement of my uncle and his girlfriend coming to meet me?

• The joy of receiving a gift picked out just for me?

• The feeling of being included?  

Maybe all of those, but probably the biggest reason was that I didn’t have to prove myself. There weren’t the usual weird introductions of “how old are you” and “how is school going.”

She just swooped in and loved me.