My Best Girlfriend, in a small nutshell

Best friends...

I got to spend 18 hours or less with my best girlfriend of 27 years! I was reflecting on best friends and what makes them. I like that saying..you'll always be my best friend because you know to much..which might just explain it all! But, no, there really is more to it.

Vicki and I met in school, but we weren't friends. In fact, I doubt we "met". We actually met at St. Vincent's hospital where we were both candy stripers. That summer turned into a summer of Taco Bell, sunbathing, boy talk, music, secrets, painful teen growth etc. That was the beginning of our sisterhood. (and much of those high school years will remain in diaries and memories at this point!)

She moved away from our high school and valley but just a half hour away. Eventually, her (ex)boyfriend and I, missing her, got close. Being afraid to hurt her, I didn't tell her. Our friendship suffered. In college, I was dating the same boy and got a call from Vicki saying he'd called and asked her to meet him at a park near her home. She said she would, stood him up and called me. He and I broke up..Vicki and I got back together. THAT is friendship.

College life for both of us was full and busy. We were in neighboring states and wrote the most hilarious, fun letters the entire time. I wish we'd saved them all, but then again...maybe it is best our kids don't know ALL our secrets! They were GOOFY fun letters and cards. However, when she was moving into their home about 15 years ago, her mother in law found her stash of my letters and....READ THEM!!! I think she's worried about me ever since! (note to self: ask Vicki if she still has those!!)

Vicki met Jeff...God sent him to take care of her and help her grow into who He had planned. I was in her wedding, and a less than a year later, she was in mine. Three years later, she celebrated my pregnancy with me, even though she was desperately wanting a baby. We took turns giving birth for three years and then came Miss Madi after a 2 year break. By this time, we lived ten minutes from each other. Playdates, parks, zoos, movies, swimming pools, dinners, lunches, pregnant bellies, health scares, deaths of loved ones, husband troubles, worries, celebrations, victories, growth of all kinds....we were there, right by each others' side whether on the porch swings or on the phone. A whole novel could be written on these sweet years. As I type, I think of the evening Jerry dislocated Jess's elbow at Vicki's and Jeff's home..just playing with her..and off we went to the ER with Jess saying, "My daddy did it, my daddy did it" and Jerry cried along with her. There's a story of an airplane that would make you wet your pants, but Vicki would have one to match it and I'd be the source of embarrassment! When I had a scarey ovarian cancer scare, my VERY pregnant best friend, my husband and three small children under that age of 4, all went out to Mc Donalds and the movie to give me quiet recovery time at home. People gawked and stared in disgust thinking that couple needed to get a TV!! They laughed till their cheeks hurt knowing the real truth of our combined family.

Time has made our visits shorter and more time between, but just as wonderfully sweet! I know God gave Vicki and I each other to make life's path more pleasant, humorous and bearable. For that, I am thankful!