Lovin' the Bestie

When I was 16 years old, I met my BFF.  I was dating my ex and she was dating his cousin.  She was a year older than me in school, had that trendy 80's hair cut of shaved on the left and long on the right and she was extremely intimidating to me.  There was an edge about her that I was a bit scared of for some reason.

I then married my ex and by extension we became "family".  We were at all of the same family events, especially those that involved the mothers in law since they were sisters.  So weirdly cousins in law or something weird like that.  I quickly learned that she wasn't just intimidating... she hated me.  I'm not sure why and even to this day she admits it but doesn't really remember (or won't tell me) why, but it was brutal.  Every family event I felt the STARE DOWN from her.  Ugh.

Slowly... VERY slowly... we got to know each other better.  We actually even started to chat a bit outside of family events.  Our men hung out with each other, so by extension so did we.  And eventually, we became friends.  Tolerant acquaintances, I would say.

I went to her when I wanted to leave my ex.  I was scared, 19 and had an 18 month old baby.  I didn't have a lot of friends and those that I did have were all off in college.  I needed an ally.  She was the PERFECT fit.

She dove in, helped me figure out what to do and when the day came, even helped me move out.  I was (and am) forever grateful that her independence, strength and courage were there for me.  She was a perfect mentor when I needed it most and still remains so today.

From there, our friendship grew.  She left the cousin and went on to have lots of adventures traveling and working her tail off to make her way.  I admired her and was so jealous of her freedom and carefree life.  We both agree that the best thing to come out of being in that family was our friendship with each other.

Since our teenage start, we have been inseparable.  I speak to her every single day of my life.  If I don't get to speak to her, we text.  I witnessed both her beautiful daughters coming into this world.  I love her husband unconditionally.  I couldn't be more proud of my BFF in every single way for the life she has accomplished.  And my life is better because she is in it.

Mostly when we chat, it's the same banter.  In fact I may have already blogged about her in the past... wouldn't surprise me since our material sometimes is off the chart!

I had a bit of a cranky mood day yesterday so I stopped what I was doing around the lunch hour and called her.  It's AMAZING to me that she can tell my mood the second she picks up the phone.  Her intuition with me is incredible!  If someone ever offs me and dumps me in the woods, I can guarantee you that she will be the first person to find me without even any clues.

Sensing I was a bit bummed, she shared with me her experience of the day.

BFF:  "I woke up this am to a flat tire.  Damn car.  Hubs wants me to sell it, I just want to fix it.  It's not that bad."

Me:  "Well, so are you going to get a new tire?"

BFF:  "I'm taking it in to the shop in a bit.  They say they have a loaner car.  I can't wait."

Me:  "Well maybe it won't be too bad, maybe just a couple of tires?"

BFF:  "It better be.  I so don't want to dish out zillions on this car.  I told the guy I only wanted 30,000 mile tires."

Me:  "I get it - when I get new tires I'm just gonna see if they have a 15,000 mile model.  I won't have my car much longer than that - I'm sure it will die before then."

BFF:  "Yeah, he tried to sell me 45,000 mile tires but I told him no.  If he can't give me 30,000 mile tires, I'll go somewhere else."

Me:  "I wish I could deal with car guys like you do."

BFF:  "My kids are gonna CRAP when I pull up in the car rider line to pick them up in this car."

Me:  "It's that bad, huh?"

BFF:  "You have no idea.  And I got my estimate for the work.  It's a lot."

Me:  "What do they have to do?"

BFF:  "Well, they called me and said the following: 

Car guy:  "Ma'am, do you know your high beams don't work?"
BFF:  "Yes, I am well aware.  I had pulled out the fuse." 
Car guy:  "Why did you pull your fuse out?" 
BFF:  "Because when I park my car in the garage at night sometimes the lights would come on automatically and stay on, ruining my battery." 
Car guy:  "Why are your headlights just coming on automatically?" 
BFF:  "I don't know, but I don't care.  Just leave it alone." 
Car guy: "Okay, well did you know your gas gauge isn't working?" 
BFF:  "Yes, I am well aware.  Just leave it alone, too." 
Car guy, confused:  "Well ma'am, you really need to be able to know how much gas you have in your car." 
BFF, pissed by this time:  "I totally know how much gas I have!  I watch my trip and mileage to gauge when to fill up.  Just put on the new damn tires and leave the rest alone!"

God I love her.  By now, I am ROLLING laughing.  She's telling the story with such dramatic tone that I can tell she was about to rip this guy's head off. 

Mission accomplished.  I'm laughing.  She's laughing.  We are happy.

I am so incredibly lucky to have her as my best friend.  We have vowed that if our hubs' kick it before we do that we will live together until we die.  We won't let each other go into nursing homes.  We will sit on our front porches rocking away and talking about our pasts.  Lord knows we have enough material to take us to eternity! 

BFFs - Celebrating 40!

Have a great THURSDAY, friends!  Tomorrow is FAVE FRIDAY!

Jen