a birthday story

once upon a time there were two little girls. they went to elementary school in Massachusetts together for about a year. then one of the girls [the short one] moved far away, to the deep southern boonies. when the girl came back to town for a visit, the two girls sat together in church and exchanged addresses. they didn’t ever write. 5 or 6 years later, the short girl moved again, this time to New York. she decided to go on a trip to Ecuador with her old church. she didn’t really know anyone, so the group leader assigned her a friend. it just happened to be the same little girl [the tall one]she exchanged addresses with so many years ago. of course, the two girls were no longer little, but they remembered each other well. it had been years since their last contact, but they began chatting online and made plans to get together when they had prep meetings for their trip. they started hanging out and realized how much fun they had together. they had so much in common- their passion for people, their love for laughter, their interest in cute boys…

in Ecuador that summer of 2001, everything changed for the two not-so-little girls. as they grew to be better friends, they got accused of being exclusive to other people. both girls felt bad [because they both love people so very much!] but probably deep inside didn’t feel too bad. in their hearts they probably knew that it was just time to start being best friends. okay, they probably didn’t know that. but it makes this part of the story sound a little less mean.

following the trip, the short girl began making journeys to massachusetts. it was about 2 ½ hours each way, but the miles didn’t matter because she was going to visit her best friend. every once in a while the tall girl made a trip to new york to visit the short girl and spend time with her family. it was always fun to hang out together, especially when other people pointed out the similarities between them—“you guys talk in the SAME voice!!” J they had many sleepovers in the neighbor’s attic apartment… sharing detailed stories, listening carefully, learning about each other’s dreams, and of course, talking about boys.

when the two girls went to college, they talked on the phone every week. a couple times the short girl got a ride to visit the tall girl at college and met all her friend’s cute boys in person. during school vacation, the two girls often met halfway between their homes. they disturbed the peace & quite of innocent bystanders reading in Barnes& Noble. they shopped together at target. they looked at cute boys at the mall. and they talked about the things most important on their hearts. during one such meeting, the short girl’s brother came along to join the fun. when the girls dropped him off so they could chat alone, he was so disappointed to not have more time to hang out all together. this was an eye-opening experience for the short girl. she realized how special this friendship was. and she wanted others to be able to see it and understand its significance.

then one year the short girl decided to spend a year in japan. she knew her friendship with the tall girl would remain strong since they had been friends long distance for the past six years. but she had no idea how their friendship would grow. the short girl loved that year in japan. she was lonely, too. she changed. she was rearranged. yet her tall friend [the not-so-little girl from that one year of elementary school] stayed consistently the best. the short girl was amazed and so grateful for her friend who spoke the truth when nobody else could speak it clearly, who understood her sadness, who laughed hysterically at her funny stories, and who listened without interrupting no matter how long she talked [about boys or otherwise…]

the two girls are looking forward to living in the same place [for once in their lives] after the short girl returns from japan. they are excited to talk EVERY DAY and to hang out with each other’s friends and to explore new places.

so today is the tall girl’s birthday.

[happy birthday, best friend!]