In the next month four of my closest friends are moving away to different states. Each of them has been a big influence in my life but there is one that I'm going to miss more then others, mostly because she is my best friend. Our friendship is coming up on a 10 year anniversary of sorts. We met the summer before our freshman year of college and little did I know that after that meeting what good times were to be had over the next decade.
Our friendship is a special one with our motto being no judgment! We tell exactly what we feel honestly and although sometimes harsh it really is said with the best of intentions. We have been there for each other through the worst of times and that has made our friendship so much stronger. The worst being the almost fatal car crash when her SUV rolled over 5 times on her way back from Texas ATM. I will never forget when I found out about it, because it still makes my stomach sick. We weren't the best of friends then, but it still haunts me to this day.
She has been my roommate twice and I can be silly with her like I can with no one else. When I think about our friendship I see it like a movie reel with snippets playing in my minds eye: when her longtime crush asked her out and how excited she was, when I walked into the room wearing my pj's and a feather boa and high heels announcing that I was going to try out for Miss Universe, when I broke up with my serious boyfriend and I thought the world was ending, making midnight margaritas in our apartment during finals, getting ready for parties, celebrating our birthdays, being there for the birth of her niece, getting dressed to work out and then going to eat at Olive Garden instead, when she picked me up because I had too much to drink, driving by our crushes houses just to see if they were home, late night marble slab runs, coming into the kitchen and asking her why she was throwing up in the sink and she telling me because she didn't want to wake me up (this was coherent thinking about 5 beers), trying to be frugal and shop at the dollar store (this lasted all of one week), our road trip from Colorado to Texas, calling her late one night and crying so hard I couldn't even breathe and she just let me get it all out not saying anything because she knew that's what I needed.
We have been through so much and have stopped each other from doing stupid mistakes because we would rather have the other be mad at us then for them to do something bad. She is truly a great friend and as the time draws near for her to move to Colorado I think I took for granted her presence. When she got engaged in November and it really sunk in for the both of us that she was moving for good in May and we started to see things in a different light. We have started crying at the drop of a hat and at the dumbest things. One time after the Women of Faith conference we were riding back in the car with her sister Dana and her mother Judy (who have become like my second family), and we were singing Rod Stewart songs at the top of our lungs. I was doing air guitar and Jenny was doing air drums and then I just lost it! Jenny finished this complicated drum roll and looked at me like did you see what I just did and there I was crying like a baby, which then made her cry and we were all just a mess. I hate being an emotional girl but what are you going to do?
This past weekend we went to the lake and we were driving back to town on Sunday morning and we have this tradition that we when we travel we have Sunday morning church in the car. We sing our favorite Christians songs and we are just silent and in deep thought. It was in this easy silence that I turned to look at her and saw her eyes welling up with tears. She looked at me and said I'm crying and kinda laughed.
It's hard to let go of something you have treasured so much and while knowing that things won't ever be the same you also know that it will be all right and that you will always be there for each other no matter if there are five miles between you or a thousand.
Jenny you will be greatly missed here in Texas.
Jenny hates this picture but I think it's hilarious and I had to put it in the post.
