Being Brave: When you've been through a lot together

"We've been through a lot together."

We really have. She knows me better than anyone except my husband....and there's a chance that she knows me better than he does.

Our journey started in kindergarten. Somehow, at 5 years old, a lifelong friendship was formed. We would go to school together until 3rd grade, and then we wouldn't walk the same halls again until our sophomore year.

She knows all the details of my junior high and high school career. Everything I quickly forgot, she has remembered. She was there for my 1st kiss (knows the date and all the details); she was there when I performed on stage or cheered on the sidelines; we took road trips together; and many a sleepover in each other's beds.

We are almost as different as night and day. She is the girl that everyone likes. She makes friends easily and comes off as pleasant. I, on the other hand, tend to come off as a witch on occasion, and I'm the first to admit that I don't like girls very much (more on that in another post coming soon). I'm a neat freak....she is not. She loves math. I love English Lit. She played basketball. I was a cheerleader. I was boy crazy in high school, and she was not.

And 25 years later, our lives have been intricately intertwined. She is simply a part of me.

And when I say we've been through a lot, I mean it. I was a horrible friend in high school. I dated her ex-boyfriend/ 1st love in high school. That's pretty much an instant call for the end of a friendship with no questions asked. And she forgave me. I was so stupid.

Now, as grown adults, we have been pregnant at the same time twice. She was in the room when my daughter was born. She got engaged on New Year's Even at my house. We were of course, in each other's weddings.

Our relationship is different but very much the same now. There are times that we go months without talking. And when we see each other again, it's like we never missed a day.

I'm thrilled that we were able to spend this weekend together. It was a joy to my soul. I can't really put into words what that kind of friendship is like. I'm just beyond grateful that I've been blessed with it.

"Friendship isn't about whom you've known the longest...It's about who came and never left your side."

{May 2006}