Best Friends

I was in second grade and considered myself to be shy around new people. One sunday, a new girl walked into our sunday school class. I was having a contest with one of the boys to see how many pins i could stick into my hand (only a few layers of skin, of course) before the teacher walked in. For some reason, I told this girl what we were doing and invited her to join us. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Over the years, Laura and I have had lots of adventures. We have shared so many laughs, tears, and moments of silent understanding. Through the last 12 years, we have always been able to turn to the other one for support, prayer, love, or just a hug.

Unlike most "best friends" we have seen, we do not fight. If we disagree, we talk. Sure, there have been times where we have to agree to disagree, but our friendship is none the worse for it.

In December, 2004, my little sister and I were in a serious car accident. She was left in a coma while I walked away with a few bruises and a sore back. They life-flighted her to a hospital about 2 hours away and my parents naturally followed. After I was checked out in the local ER, I was ok'd to go home. IF i had returned home that night, without my sister, I would have taken my life. However, Laura and her family opened their home to me and I stayed there for a few weeks until my sister was released and we could return home together. If it had not been for Laura's support during that time, I would not be here to write this.

She went to college a few hours away in the fall of 2006. Both of us wondered how our relationship would fare across the distance. In addition, I was pregnant and engaged to my baby's father which meant I could not visit her. She was able to make it back every month or so and we got together and caught up on each other's lives and became even closer. 

I got married in November, 2006, and my daughter was born in February, 2007. Laura does not like babies. She says that they are ugly and they cry when she holds them. However, when I called her at 3:30 am to tell her that my daughter was born, she said she'd be home to see me that weekend. When she met my daughter they bonded instantly. Khloe (my baby) was not an "ugly" baby as she had imagined. Laura held Khloe for probably an hour, and did not want to put her down. Amazingly, Khloe slept peacefully in her arms and did not cry.

Laura came home to stay with her family for the summer.  She had only been home for about 2 or 3 weeks when their house was flooded, making it un-livable. She called and told my husband the situation, and we told her to come stay with us for as long as she needed. She ended up staying for the whole summer, as their house is not done yet. Her mother expressed concern that our relationship would suffer if she stayed with us the whole summer since we were newlyweds with a baby and living in a one bedroom appartment on a very limited income. We assured her that it would not be a problem and Laura moved into our living room. 

We managed to make it through the summer and Laura headed back to college. While it is nice to have more space (we also moved into a slightly bigger place a couple of weeks ago) I do miss her on the weekends she doesn't come home.  She will be home tonight though, and since her family's house is still not done she will spend the night in our living room once again. 

I hope and pray that the friendship we have shared will last for many years to come, and that some day we will grow old together. I love my best friend like a sister and I wish that everyone could have a friend like her.