Day 9- A favorite picture of your best friend

I like this topic. I'm very fortunate to have a number of really great friends, 4 of whom I consider my "best" friends. Yes, I realize that I am misusing the term "best", since there are 4, but I feel there is nothing wrong with considering more than one person your "best" friend. All 4 of these people are very different, as are our friendships, but they are the people closest to me and I consider them all family.

Melissa and Angie

 



 

Melissa and Angie are two of my oldest friends. Melissa and I met in 7th grade and have been thick as thieves ever since. We've lived together more than once, and even though we are currently on opposite sides of the country, it's still as though we see each other every day. Angie and I met in 11th grade when we both worked at Baskin Robbins. We were well-acquainted for a while, but we didn't become really close until we were roommates in college. Two marriages and two kids later, Angie is still like a sister to me. Both women have been on hand for a number of adventures, some involving all 3 of us, and these women are truly my sisters.

 

 

Tim

 

 

Tim and I met when we were both working at Vroman's Bookstore about 10 years ago or so. I was a supervisor and he started working in my department. At the time, I thought he was kind of weird and a bit of a slacker. That all changed after a party he had at his house. Tim got rip-roaring drunk and was carrying on. The next time I saw him at work, he apologized for "anything he might have said", and our friendship was born. Tim was a founding member of what we referred to as "TheVromies Secret Circle". There was a group of us that would go out often and have drinks and act stupid. Eventually, the Vromies dispersed, but my friendship with Tim remained, and he became my favorite drinking buddy. We've recorded music together, gone walking around the Sierra Madre foothills together, meditated together, and shared many a beer together. My friendship with Tim is living proof that men and women can truly have platonic friendships.

 

 

Ali

 

Ali and I also met at Vvroman's. I had already worked with her brother and sister for a while, and the youngest of the Keyes kids followed in their footsteps and came to work in my department. Ali is quite a bit younger than me (8 years, to be exact), so I didn't expect us to have much in common. Ali became my Saturday morning opening buddy at the store, and that's where our friendship was forged. We talked about anything and everything, including the cute guy that came to the coffee shop every Saturday (what ever happened to Coffee Guy?). Ali is very much like a younger version of me, and I'm not sure anyone else in the world understands me as completely as she does. We've laughed and cried together, been there through new loves and break-ups, nurtured each other's feelings and offered tough love when needed. I was there when Ali started seeing her good friend Daniel, and I am so proud that I will be there in September when Ali and Daniel walk down the aisle.

 

 

I'm so thankful to have these wonderful friends in my lives. There are many others that I am very close to and could write a whole book about (Erin, Nick, Minnie, Guinevere, Justin), and I have to say that there is nothing better than sharing your life with great friends.