That was me and my bestest friend, Susan.
It has been 15 years since last eye contact. Almost 25 years since we were freshman roommates at Truett - both purchasing the same sheets for our dorm room beds and not knowing until we made them up. More since the day bat-welding Bianca - aka Shittenbarger - chased me through the campus street threatening bodily harm. More since those afternoons after school on the pinnacle of the golf course with Rowena, Susan's mom. More since the days of hearing Hubert's, Susan's dad, silly giggles. More since the days of Acteens and "steps" and a 16th birthday party in my daddy's '48 Chevy and sneaking alongside the gray bomb to get in the Cornelia drive-in - free. Even more since the days of Brenda's pea green Mustang called Henry and rolling yards and Brenda's wearing of cotton underwear on her head to keep her hair manageable during sleep. And the pepper in the pillowcase at Rock Eagle. Oh my, the pepper in the pillowcase. I plead the 5th!
These memories keep me alive and moving forward, simply in the hopes that, when I least expect it, I'll be able to relive them again in a small bistro in Asheville. As I get older, true friends are harder to come by. The daily walk of life leads relationships in different directions and life sets the new priorities, a fact that I detest, but one I must accept. I give thanks for these moments and realize I was, and continue to be, one very lucky girl. 
A good friend is indispensible. They listen when you need to talk, give advice when asked. They are always there for you. A really good friend is one that you can have no contact with for years and then one day you pick up the phone and there they are. You fall back into talking like you just saw each other yesterday. I just reconnected with my best friend from my childhood. When I last saw her a year after our high school graduation,she had changed her major and was planning on attending the University of Idaho. I hadn't heard from her since. When I got on facebook, she was the first person I looked for. Unfortunately, I only had her maiden name to go on. She had not registered in our high school group or the page devoted to our town. Every once in a while, I would do a search for her with no success. This summer, I got a friend request from none other than my friend with whom I had shared so much during our childhood. It turns out that for many years, she lived just over the Washington/Oregon border, and her son went to college in the town where I was living. So close and yet so far. I am thrilled to be connected again, though she was never far from my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to "fall" back into such an amazing time in your life. You are right; it feels like you don't even skip a beat. That's the thing about true friendships. Time or distance is not strong enough to tear that bond apart. I'm so glad you found your friend - I'm sure she had been searching for you as long as you had for her. Isn't that a wonderful feeling to know that?
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