I listen to the laughter of my almost 13-year-old daughter enjoying a sleepover with three of her friends. I smile, and I smile again even larger on the inside. I am glad that she has a circle of great friends. I know first hand, how this will be one of her greatest treasures in life~her friends. Will they always be together? Chances are they will probably not, but I know a secret, one they have not yet discovered. Miles and distance are irrelevant when it comes to friends. They will all follow different paths, have different dreams, but this time that they have now is irreplaceable. I hope they always take time to nurture their friendships.

Out of almost a “double-dare” comes the rest of todays blog. I threatened one of my best friends, that if she didn’t at least let me coax her into facebook/phone/email occasionally? I was going to blog about us. I think it scared her LOL. Yes, sometimes I call her to just make sure she is amongst the living. I know where she is. She is not even close to being “lost” I joke with her about flushing her out of her self-made fortress.

I’ve heard people comment that “friends just lose touch” or “grow apart” I have found this to not always be the case.  I will admit that we all have friends that we just don’t interact with every day. Then, we have those friends that can be apart for a very long time and pick right back up where you left off in a matter of hours. I love that about them!

From the time I entered into the seventh grade, graduated, married, and moved away, I have been fortunate to have such a friend. Although I have not seen her in  more years than I care to admit? I have never doubted that time and miles would be totally irrelevant between us. We were inseparable from the day we met. We have led different lives, been in opposite stages of parenting (she’s almost through the teen years!) The one thing that has been constant – our friendship. We own each other’s vaults, as best friends should. I know if I called her this instant? the sound of her voice would be a comfort, regardless of the actual words. (okay, this would be more true if she would ANSWER her phone) I think she knows it would be the same way if the tables were turned. I consider her one of my life’s blessings, part of my “original” tapestry. Like a homemade quilt, she will always be part of my “home.” The same goes for our family members that are also forever intertwined.

I know when we have aged beyond remembering even half of the laughter, tears, disappointments, and (well, just some things that we will be grateful that senility buffers) I don’t think either of us will ever be politicians, but a little old-age memory loss will probably serve us well one day. We will always consider ourselves blessed in knowing one another. Friends keep one another anchored. I have a tendency to want to keep my head in the clouds, being a dreamer, while she, on the other hand, resonates to me reality, and pulls out those scales of balance. I must say that she is one of the few people I know that can be real, without making you feel like she is passing judgement – those are priceless!

So, I kind of made good on my threat to blog…and knowing her? it will sit for weeks in her inbox before she reads it! But, eventually I know she will, and while the miles are still very much between us…with my friend…they will always be irrelevant.

“Gotcha”