This is my friend, Camille

I've written a few times about my friend, Camille. I want to tell you a very sweet story about her that carries a wonderful life lesson for all of us.

Yesterday, Paige's Living & Learning Class had swimming in the afternoon. I take the kids over to the pool, and Camille meets us there.

Yesterday, Camille also had her friend, Melissa with her. Melissa has two little girls, Bella and Maya. Bella has a progressive, degenerative disease that is fatal. She is a beautiful little girl, with skin as soft as the most luxurious silk your mind can even imagine.

Melissa and Bella and Maya decided they were going to swim with the kids! How fun!

Because Bella needs to be held and supported in the water, Camille offered to go in the pool with Maya.

The "rest of this story" is what I want to tell you about...to see what a special person Camille is.

She did not have a swim suit with her, nor did she have time to go home and get hers. So...she went to St. Vincent's, which is a 2nd hand store that sells clothes to raise money for the poor, like the Salavation Army.

And...she bought a bathing suit. Any old bathing suit. She just held it up, hoped it would fit, and away she went.

When she tried it on, it was short for her, and didn't fit her well. Most women, in their vanity, would have said "forget that." Most of us wouldn't get caught dead in a suit that we didn't think looked good on us, or that we felt uncomfortable with.

Not Camille. She didn't even hesitate. She shrugged it off, laughed, and said, "Oh well, we'll have fun...that's what matters."

This is my friend, Camille...who always sees the bright side...who walks on the sunny side of the street.

She found a moment of simple childhood joy -- splashing in the water -- and seized it without hesitation.

What a wonderful way to live. What a wonderful person.