Today is my anniversary.
No, it's not the day I met my DH. Or became engaged to him. Or married him.
No, it's not an anniversary with an ex-boyfriend, either.
It's my anniversary with my best friend, J.
(And, for clarification, I -- like J -- do believe you can have more than one best friend; in fact, I have a little circle of girls whom I consider to be my besties... but I didn't meet them three years ago today! And when I did meet them, do you know who was by my side? That's right -- J!)
The first time I met her -- exactly three years ago today -- she showed me her boobs. I showed her mine, too. We weren't crazy exhibitionists, just first-time nursing mothers trying to get a handle on breastfeeding at a support group at our local hospital. I was the "more experienced" mom; G was 18 days old at the time, a full 11 days older than her daughter, K. J complained that K wasn't sleeping well, and I urged her to start swaddling and use white noise. She did, it worked, and we've never looked back.
From the outside looking in, our friendship is unconventional. J just celebrated her 40th birthday in August; I don't celebrate my 30th til April, meaning we will never be in the same decade. She comes from a big -- and I mean BIG -- family; I'm an only child. She graduated from the University of Florida and cheers for the Gators; Tim Tebow makes me want to yak.
What we have in common far outshines our differences. We both have two children -- our three-year-old daughters, who brought us together in the first place, and our infant sons, born exactly two months apart. Our husbands both love sports, and play on the same flag football team. We both have one dog, a three bedroom/2.5 bathroom house with a similar floor plan and bought our new SUVs the same month. We went out to lunch a few weeks ago and ordered the exact same salad. We both chose to cloth diaper our sons, and make our own homemade baby food for them as well.
But its our personalities that have truly made our friendship what it is. If you were to look at her comments on my blog, they'll read something like, "I could have written this post!" If you looked at my comments on her blog, they say the exact same thing. We can finish each others sentences. We both left our jobs within a six month period, and became inherently frugal -- far more frugal than our other mutual friends -- in the process. There are times, even when we're with a large group, that she can catch my eye and I know instantly what she's thinking.
We've made concrete plans for the future. We've already decided that my G will marry her son; my C will marry her three-year-old daughter. That way, we won't have to split holidays, but will instead spend them together as one big happy family -- which we tend to do already.
So, to my best friend (whom I don't think I've ever called my best friend out loud to anyone else but my husband) -- thank you. Thank you for letting me be me when I'm around you, and for loving me because of it -- or maybe despite of it. Thank you for sharing your family with mine. Thank you for the advice and sometimes, just for an ear to listen or a shoulder upon which to lean.
Pass the tissues please....sniff SNIFF! That was so nice to read. Thank YOU!!!!!!! over and over and over, Thank you. Could NOT have lasted through all this without you!
Aww! I love it! Glad you have a partner in crime.
How Sweet!
Cute picture of the girls! I have found that I'm often the youngest when I'm with a group of moms outside of my closer girlfriends. At first, it was a little intimidating, but I soon realized the common ground of being a "mom", especially when you have children the same age, easily brings you together and there's always plenty to talk about! I'm happy you have J, and that J has you. This kind of friendship is such a blessing!
It's amazing how quickly breastfeeding mothers bond with each other!