Kelly

Every once in a while you get a do-over in life, and it is awesome. While I have been blessed with family, friends, and acquaintances that are incomparable in both quantity and quality, I have had very, very few besties in my life. I've got my family besties, my hubby bestie, and my life-long girlfriend bestie. Besides that, I have had only one other, and that didn't end well, I'm very sad to say. It has grieved me for a long time, and I have often felt regret over the loss of the relationship, and sadness to not have that other close friend my life. It was good while it lasted, but I had resigned myself to never again knowing the joy of an all-out, souls-bared, pedal-to-the-medal, life-changing bestie again. Then, I met Kelly.

Kelly loved me from moment one, in a way that was both comforting and off-putting at the same time. She accepted me. She encouraged me. She knew me, and it was unnerving. I couldn't hide from Kelly, but I realized that I didn't want to - or have to - either. Somehow this brazen, brash woman was telling me all the truths I didn't want to accept and the advice I didn't want to hear, and I found myself loving her for it.

So, because of our exciting, wonderful friendship, we did all the usual exciting, wonderful things that friends do. She painted my bathroom. I helped her load her moving truck. We stood over the kitchen sink and ate chicken salad on romaine lettuce. We talked about parents and parenting, children and chickens, husbands and humanity. We cried together. We laughed together. We sweated together, and then cried and laughed about that together too. It was awesome.

And then, one day, we did tie dye, and ate snackies, and she moved across the country. Here it was - happening all over. My bestie was gone, and I figured I would once again be left with regret over the loss of the relationship, and sadness to not have that other close friend my life. But, that's where I'd be wrong. Kelly may live 869.7 miles away, but I have learned that true besties never really leave you, even when they go away.

Kelly still talks me down, though it's via email, phone, or instant messages these days. Her handiwork is still evident in my life - both figuratively and literally - and I often find myself chuckling over shared moments we had together. We may not have lazy Monday afternoons and pop-in craft and chat sessions, but at least we can still share special occasions, like today. You see, it's Kelly's birthday. I wish we could have spent the day together, watching our children play and solving all the world's problems. But, that's kind of hard when you're this far apart. Instead, I'll cherish memories, look forward to the fun we'll have together in the future, and I'll share with her one of the best gifts I ever received - this really great gal named Kelly. Happy birthday, bestie! Thanks for being awesome in my life.