Birthdays

Today is the birthday of one of my oldest friends.  We’ll just call her Tomato for the sake of this post.   If you embarrass her enough she turns bright red like a tomato, so that seems fitting :)

Tomato and I met each other in grade school.  We went to the same school since kindergarten, but somehow never really “met” until a few years later.  Once we did we were inseparable.   I frequently got in trouble for talking to her too much in school.  Or laughing.  We laughed a lot.

In high school we spent most Friday/Saturday nights together.  We were both (probably still are) weird and random but we were weird and random together.  We were silly and got in trouble together.  Although we never did anything serious I’m sure our parents wondered if the other was a bad influence at times although I think I was the bad influence though to be honest!  We played MASH and wrote notes and listened to the same music.  We’d drive around and sing songs at the top of our lungs.  I don’t sing in front of anyone so this is quite amazing to think of now.

She’d convince me to watch scary movies and I’d spend the next night on my parent’s bedroom floor because I was terrified and couldn’t sleep.  I had been okay until I watched the movie but after learning about Freddie Kruger or that guy from Scream I was convinced he was going to come for me that night.  I’d finally recover from one movie and we’d watch another one, starting the cycle again!

There was a time when she knew more about me than I knew about myself at times.  She would listen to me ramble on and on (hard to imagine I’d do that huh?) about my issues and then I’d listen to hers.  She’d put up with my boy drama and help me dissect conversations and analyze them the way high school girls do.  She’d answer the phone at 2am ready to talk or just listen to me (that was when we were young and could actually wake up at 2am and be coherent).

Finally we graduated and it came time to part ways.  It was hard to say goodbye.  I knew we’d always be best friends, that nothing would ever change, even though I heard that it would.  I cried after we said good-bye the day before we left for college.  She just “got” me and I’ve learned that doesn’t come along very long.

Things have changed; we’ve both grown up so much.  She went to one college and I went to another.  We grew apart in college, each dealing with our own experiences, the huge changes in our lives.  We live in different states.  We have different lives.  One thing has never changed though.  No matter what, I know she’s always there to listen.  She doesn’t judge me, she already knows I’m a bit nuts, but apparently she doesn’t care.  We don’t talk that often, every other month, sometimes even a few at a time.  When we do talk we just pick up from where we left off.  While I was a bit wrong about things not changing, I was right about one thing – she’ll be my friend until the end and I’m so glad she’s in my life.

Happy birthday to my amazing friend.  I hope this year is full of wonderful surprises and happiness.  You deserve it!