Twenty Years and Counting.

This post is for a loyal reader of mine who has already pointed out that I didn't post anything over the weekend. I'm taking you back twenty years. There I stood as a bratty, frizzy-haired child, screaming at the top of my lungs, in an attempt to introduce myself to a seemingly calm and quiet-natured brunette with thick bangs who lived two houses down. She had the coolest "toy" on the block...a bag swing that hung from the tree in her front yard. And I was deteremined to get to know this person so that I could blissfully swing back and forth as often as my little heart desired. Who knew that particular bag swing would help unite a twenty year friendship! Tess was her name. For the first several years, our friendship consisted of a bag swing, the local swimming pool, banana seat bike and an obnoxiously loud horn, hand jives to the words of Miss Mary Mack and My Dolly Playmate, and baths that made our imaginations run wild and turned us into hosts to our very own cooking shows! Later, it fostered many sleepovers that always included a movie or two, ice cream (I still say she gave herself more than me), a growly, bearded guy on all fours, chasing us in circles causing high pitched squeals to be heard throughout the house, and always ended with stories being told by the protective mother who had the heart the size of Texas. As we grew a bit older, you could find us running throughout the grocery store in hopes of finding the next "clue" on the back of a macaroni and cheese box. We always won our version of "Supermarket Sweep"! And as embarrassed as I am to admit this, even up until Junior High, you could find us locked in our bedrooms with paper-made food, scanners and cash registers. The ends of pens would create the clicking sound as if we were pushing buttons on the register and our mouths would create the beeping noise as we were sliding groceries across the scanner. We were great friends who discovered that we had a bond that nothing could break. Many summers were spent apart but we hand-wrote each other at least once a week. And although we haven't been in the same town in eight years, to this very day, we still communicate through notes (a.k.a. emails), at least once a week. We have been through a lot together and now that we continue to grow older, I feel blessed to have such a strong and long lasting friendship with her. I can honestly say that I have had a solid "best" friend for TWENTY YEARS already. And now, she is about to experience one of the most amazing things in life...she is becoming a mommy!!! And I couldn't be more happy for her. Congratulations, again, on your pregnancy Tess! I love you and can't wait to meet your baby! Thanks for being such a loyal friend.


Tess is on the left with the thick bangs and I'm on the right with the frizzy hair. Ignore the really cute one in the middle, lol.