Sometimes in this life we are blessed with best friends, I found mine when I was 12 years old, I had a crush on her cousin back then and had sent him a secret valentine, I guess a rumor got out that I had said bad things about him and his girlfriend (which I didn't) but ever the protector Julie had me pinned to the lockers saying you don't mess with her family... Fast forward a couple of years, I had joined the same church as her and needed rides to the Wednesday night activities and the leader would go out of her way by 20 minutes and pick me up and take me and then take me home and Julie was close with this leader and so she'd often tag along, we started to get closer.
Then terrible news came, my sister was killed I was 15, she was 16 and she made me Mississippi Mud Pie and took me to the movies to distract me from the awfulness of my life even if it was for a few hours. We have been best friends ever since. Even when her dad would scream, Julie you are talking long distance too much to Mandy and it's costing me a fortune, we still couldn't be kept apart. We did ever thing together and even moved in together when we went to the University. Although, we have had many a rough patch and stretches of time when we didn't talk either because we were mad or just plain busy, I've always known she'd be there for me. But it always surprises me how much, for example.
When my parents were very sick, my dad had just passed away and my mom was down hill and I had to take her home from the hospital knowing that she was coming home to die and I was 7 months pregnant and never wanted to leave my moms side. She took vacation from work and stayed and helped, we would go in shifts watching my mom so that she'd never be without someone beside her (which was a fear of hers to die alone) and so that I could rest. What an awesome friend. And after she passed away and the chaos got to be too much she took me to a movie and I felt like I was 15 again, escaping it all even for a brief reprieve.
From that point years ago, I shouldn't have been surprised that she would be there for me when I truly needed her, like this past week. I won't say what surgery I had, but I will say it was a rather painful recovery and her and her husband came down the day before, her husband watched the kids while she took me to the hospital, she was waiting after the procedure and took me home, her husband ever the sweet heart fixed all types of things I was not even concerned about, things that I thought can just wait until Josh gets home to be taken care of, but it was lovely that he did it. He left the next day and Julie and her daughter stayed for the next 10 days to take care of me and my children and my house and my pets. She did laundry, cooked meals, make sure I rested and took my pills, watched out I didn't do too much, even getting made if I pushed myself, she made Clay's birthday wonderful which I was so sad that I couldn't be apart of because I was 3 days post surgery, she just stepped in and stepped up. Ever the protector, Ever my best friend.
I'm one lucky chic!
