Friends for Life

When I was three years old, I met two friends, Kim and Leslie. They were four (we all need "older" friends!), and moved in on either side of my house. We did EVERYTHING together --- greeting the ice cream truck, making cinnamon toast, trick-or-treating, riding Big Wheels, playing outside, going to each other's grandparents' houses, Christmas --- you name it!

Halloween 1972 - Leslie, Me, Kim
The only thing we didn't do together was school because eventually THEY were in 1st grade while I was a lowly Kindergartner. Our homes were intermingled in that we could be found in or near one of them at any given time. Sadly, Kim's family moved to Georgia a few years later and Leslie's moved out of the neighborhood not long after that. We had a sleep over the night before Kim moved, and as children, we knew that we'd never see one another again.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Kim, Leslie, and I are still friends. Yes, 37 years later! We have been with one another through the loss of parents, marriages, divorces, children, miscarriages, adoptions, family illnesses, moves, happy times, and sad times. We don't see one another often enough, but when we do it's easy to pick right back up where we were.

Thanks be to Ole Miss University - that they played in the Cotton Bowl today. That means Kim and her family came in from Georgia to see the game. It also means that Leslie and her family became available so we could spend our New Year's Day together. What a FABULOUS way to start off 2009!

Here are a few photos from our time together last night:


Although we don't talk nearly often enough, we are friends for life. I am thankful to have them both, and I know their friendship will be cherished for another 37 years and more!