Well sure we're friends aren't we?

Yesterday is going to go on record as one of the top 20 experiences of my life. I got to be reunited with an old friend who I hadn't seen in 10 years. Marybeth and I went through all of elementary and high school together. She became my best friend in the 4th grade and we remained together through a lot of stuff until we parted ways for college. She was always a better friend to me than I was to her. She supported me through some really tough times and I never really thanked her for being a solid rock in my life. I let her down more times than I can count. I particularly remember a shouting match we had in our little locker cubby at St. Ursula. She was mad at me for something and I started yelling at her, told her to stop acting like my mother, etc... A classmate walked by and said something like, you guys are too good of friends to let something like this come between you. That is exactly how I feel about our friendship. We are too good of friends to let a boy or a religion or 10 years come between us.

Being with her was the perfect mix of today and yesterday. We reminisced about so many things and shared all the new stuff. I got to meet her husband who you can tell just loves her so much and is such a great partner for her. She is expecting her first child, a girl, in September and she just exudes joy at the prospect of motherhood. She lives outside of Washington DC now and visits her family in Toledo several times a year.

In addition to seeing her, I got to see the rest of her family. Her mother, Mrs. Bauer, who was also my 7th grade teacher. Mrs. Bauer took in my sister and I many times when we needed it. I know she cared about me as I was growing up. I got to see her father, who always called me Jenny Benny. I remember some pretty scary rides to SUA in his van that involved a lot of honking and lane changing. Her sister and niece and a friend were there too. I don't know why, but I had this overwhelming feeling while I was there that this is what it would be like to have a relationship as a grown-up with a mother. Her mom cooked us dinner and kept refilling my drink and was fun to talk to and liked the pictures of my kids. I hunger for a place called home where you can go and be taken care of by the person who loves you more than anything else in the world.

Marybeth and I in high school.

Marybeth, thank you for your friendship. It means the world to me. Let's not let 10 years go by again.