An Ode to Turtle Parade.

Sometimes in life people have best friends. And sometimes those best friends turn 30. And sometimes when that best friend turns 30, you like to say good things about them and your friendship.

It just so happens that my best friend will be 30 tomorrow. So, if I may...

I met my best friend 23 years ago. It was 1985 and we were in the second grade. I have little recollection of the day we officially met, but I like to think we were best friends at first sight. I probably started talking to her because she looked like me and I thought she might be my long-lost sister. Alas, she was not. But a beautiful friendship bloomed anyhow. Together, we endured the trials and tribulations of growing up - tests, boys, puberty, perms, loss of family members, loss of pets, sicknesses, sports, braces, etc. Our friendship even lasted through that black and white striped culotte & necktie outfit with an attached flourescent orange vest she wore in junior high. Only a true friendship could survive the craziness of that outfit. Luckily I liked her for the person she was on the inside.

Our friendship had its ups and downs, mainly because we knew some catty bitches who were jealous of our friendship and tried to break us up. There was one fight our freshman year of high school that nearly threatened to destroy us forever. But the passing of a note at a wrestling match fixed that. I'm proud to say that was the last fight we were ever in.

We continued to be friends even when we separated and went off to college, a time when most people drift apart. It's funny how distance didn't matter with us. We still visited each other and talked on the phone for hours, we still laughed together and got to know each other's college friends. And now that we're both married, still nothing has changed. That's the way we've always been. Our friendship is effortless. We just are.

So if you want to know how I've managed to be friends with someone for SO long, ask yourself this: Would you want to be friends with someone who is so awe-inspiring, who knows who she is, who has an opinion and sticks to it, who is accomplished, who is hilarious and makes you laugh all the time, who lets you complain about silly things, who is beautiful, who is one of the first people you call whether you have good or bad news, who gives great hugs, who makes you feel better when all you want to do is feel sorry for yourself, who you watch stupid movies with and can recall every line together, who has a great family and lets you in it, who is loyal, who is eerily similar to your husband, who gets sick a lot, who you've traveled with to some pretty fantastic places, who you've gotten drunk with more times than you could ever count, who has been with you through every milestone, who has never let you down once in 23 years, who you never seem to run out of things to talk about with, who is the closest thing to a sister you will ever have, and who you know you're going to be friends with the rest of your life?

I certainly would. And I am proud to say that that person is my best friend.

And good God, I'm not even going to try and imagine what my life would have been like without her.

Happy Birthday to my best friend. I love you.
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