Dallas, TX Adventures with BW!
We found an optimistic mural in downtown Dallas!
We spent the next two months (March 1-May 2nd) in Athens which is about 90 minutes from Dallas. My sweet friend, BW whom I met while working at Henry Ford Health System flew down from Detroit to visit me.
You might be thinking where did “BW” come from when her given name is Lisa. Have you watched the play “Defending the Caveman?” We watched it in the late ’90s in Detroit. We both thought it would be funny to affectionately call each other “BW “which stands for “Butt Wipe.” One of the points of “Defending the Caveman” is how men can easily call each other names and the other person doesn’t take offense to it. We thought it would be hilarious to start calling each other “BW.” Men aren’t the only ones who can see past what could be offensive and understand the friendship behind a nickname! The name has stuck and we’ve affectionately called each other this for the last 20+ years.
The other thing that is really cool about BW is that her temperament, skills, and interests are a lot like my husband’s. BW always had a non-judgmental, supportive approach to our friendship. This was a big change for me because I was used to the punishing approach I got from the abusive marriage I used to be in. It turned out that BW planted an important seed that finally blossomed 10 years later into an amazing marriage with my second husband.
If you’re someone who’s kind and nurturing to your friends, believe me, you never know how big your impact can turn out to be! You can change someone’s life just by being yourself and loving them.
It’s amazing how you look back on your life and see the series of steps that brought you to where you are today. You see the little decisions that built on each other to bring you to bigger, more important decisions later on. I’m thankful for the ride even though there were some really rough spots to get me to where I’m at now.
First stop, the Dallas Museum of Art. I highly recommend it. It was free but we had to get timed tickets due to COVID. Lots of famous artists to see!
We went to Deep Ellum and checked out some amazing ice cream - Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. They even had coconut-based, vegan ice cream. The lively Deep Ellum entertainment district is known for its vibrant street murals, quirky art galleries, and long-time concert venues for indie and blues
We checked out the Dallas Farmers Market which is open every day. It felt more commercial than most Farmer’s Markets we’ve been to, but it is still worth checking out. We picked up some baby carrots that were delicious.
We went to the Nasher Sculpture Garden. It was inspiring. We also had a timed ticket due to COVID.
BW wanted to check out the JFK Memorial Garden. It is always sad when you visit a memorial especially when they died tragically and they left this earth too early.
We checked the Dallas Arboretum. They have such beautiful gardens. Lots of tulips when we were there at the end of March.
We went mural hunting to see what we could find. This bottom mural, we passed by 3 times before we actually saw it in Deep Ellum. We also found delicious vegan food here too.
So many friendships wax and wan. But BW’s has been a steady force. Almost 8 years ago, we met one long weekend in Philly in the middle of the winter. We had a blast and were able to visit all the historical and museums to our heart’s content without any long lines that is typical of the summer. I took the train up from Richmond, VA and BW flew in from Detroit. We promised to get together again for another girl’s trip but schedules clashed and time kept marching forward.
I’m thankful we had the privilege of time that allowed us to get together again and celebrate our friendship. BW has been an extremely important part of my life. She helped guide me from the place I had been in, towards the relationship and life I could never have imagined and which I am grateful for every day.