There is No Friend Like an Old Friend

This is my Mom and her friend, Jackie. They have been friends since junior high. They came up to visit me and my tribe and it set me to thinking.

There is no friend like an old friend. In the past year, I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with several of my oldest friends. Say what you will about Facebook (Aaron) but it is a great place for finding long lost friends. How great it was to talk to Erin, the very first best friend that I remember having. One of my most cherished possessions is a postcard she sent me. Written on the back, in her large, first grader handwriting, are the words,

"Dear Greta,

We are best old buddies."

And we were. I still remember how sad I was when she moved away. And what a thrill it was to spend the weekend at her new house where they had such novelties as the Disney Channel. I particularly remember watching Fraggle Rock and thinking it was the greatest thing in the entire world.

And then Laurel. In the words of Anne of Green Gables, Laurel was my bosom friend. When she went away for a week to visit her grandparents. I moped around the house like a love sick teenager. I loved so many things about her: how good she looked with her knee socks pulled up perfectly, right below her knees, (I could never pull off knee socks) her thick french braids, and her sense of humor. Even as a kid, Laurel was funny. My whole family remembers her slightly sarcastic sense of humor. I mourned when she moved away, to far off Bakersfield.

It is easy to loose touch with people. Your interests change,

your personality, your family moves, you get too busy and all the other reasons we have for a friendship that gets lost. But how amazing to stay friends through it all.

Like my Mom and Jackie have.

When I was little, hearing Jackie call my Mom Lil sounded strange. But I liked it. Lil was a different person than I knew. Everyone I knew called her Lillian. But she used to be Lil. She used to go shopping with Jackie for expensive dresses and call her Mom and say, "Hi Mom, guess where I am?"

And my Grandma would hang up on her.

I like to hear the stories of those 2 girls growing up.

As they were watching my kids play in the backyard, they reminisced about their days as young moms, my older brother and sister and Jackie's 2 boys running around like mine. Later, when I suggested they stop at the mall on the way home, they both complained their knees couldn't handle it. (sorry girls, nothing is safe with me)

Here they are, years later, having gone through so many stages of life together and still friends. There aren't many people you can say you've been friends with for your whole life.

But it's something to strive for.

A note on the pictures. The boys were too shy to hang out with us much, (well at least until Granny and Jackie bought them McDonald's) but Lilly had no problem making friends right away. I think she made Jackie her honorary Grandma. And of course, she loves playing with her Granny.

She's smart, that girl. Being shy doesn't get you extra snuggles and tickles. But being cute and cuddly sure does.