My oldest and probably closest friend gets married this April. I don't anticipate our friendship really changing much; in fact, maybe Josh and I will finally have some couple friends after she and James tie the knot. I titled this post Goodbye, Miss Bosquette not because I am planning on losing her friendship, but because she will soon be Mrs. James Perkolidis. I don't expect to lose a friend because of a change in her marital status, however. Our friendship has weathered some big changes before, and I am sure we will adapt to this one as well.
Susan and I met sometime around kindergarten. I have to say I don't have many memories for those first five years, and even after that point, the fifth-grade-ish memories aren't exactly worth recounting. We didn't really hit it off till about tenth grade, when we celebrated our birthdays together for the first time. You see, we came into this world only one day apart, God's touch on our lives ensuring our paths would cross. We have always been separated by one year in school. This surely didn't matter when we were younger, but it made for a particulary poignant sendoff to college when one was going, one was staying. I will probably not ever forget that night in the Nortons' driveway when I had to hug goodbye my closest friend ...only to drive home and pack up my entire life and move 500 miles away the following morning. It bears mentioning that I arrived 500 miles away from my dear friend without a pillow, blanket, or any of the necessities of life. I was a fish out of water in more than one sense.
But we weathered that storm.
She went off to school the year after I did, and rocky though it was, spent two years away from home and still not anywhere near me. We talked on the phone infrequently, emailed constantly, and always caught up on breaks from school and over the summers. We were fortunate to spend one summer housesitting together, a rare treat for a couple girls our age... living rent-free apart from our parents for the entire summer. We worked crazy shifts and put up with some crazy cats in a second-floor apartment with no air conditioning. And I had no car. That might have torn a more fragile friendship apart, but not my Sue and me! We held on tight. And she picked me up from work on more than one rainy night.
I can't think of a single meaningful occasion in my life that this friend has missed. She was there at my high school graduation, my departure to college, my college graduation, my bridal shower and wedding, my graduation from nursing school... and she has certainly been a part of countless meaningful moments in between:
....from late night talks deep into the night, tears over silly boys, venting frustration about haughty girls, crazy youth group choir practice, Toni Braxton blasting while we got ready for who knows what... I can remember when but a few lyrics of Mr. Boombastic or No Diggity would send us into a fit of laughter not soon stifled. I came across a college sendoff gift the other day: a mix tape with songs about friendship on one side; funny, inside-joke songs on the other. It brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion in my miniature dorm room at Roberts. I am sure the girls around me had no idea why the skinny one from Maine listened to the same music all day! But not to worry, it wouldn't be the first time someone on the outside looking in wouldn't understand. You all will never know why I occasionally spell "Sue" S-o-o. I'm sure you have no idea what in the world "sahanya" is. And it is unlikely that you know why either of us opening a pretend Bible in our hands will send the other laughing to the point of wet pants.
And that's alright.
It's just one of those things that happens when you have known someone for most of your life. You can't help but have an unmeasurable number of mutual memories. You are sure to have shared a heartbreak at some point. You are likely to have experienced something wonderful together, too. And in a few weeks, I will have the pleasure of participating in the transition from the single life to the married life for my dear friend Sue. I am honored to stand with her at the front of the church as a symbol of my support for her. It will be a day of laughter and tears, and I am sure that throughout the weekend we will make memories to hold onto forever.
Not that that's anything new.
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