In Need...

First and foremost, before posting this blog, I want to send out my prayers and well wishes to all of those affected by the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan.  Having lived in Japan for three years and meeting one of my best friends there, I am truly saddened by the devestation that is occuring in that country.  The Japanese are an amazing group of people and are so kind.  Please keep your prayers with them as they struggle to recover.

Best friends are very difficult to come by, I've already highlighted a story about Melinda in one of my previous blogs and about a situation that I think did have a part in saving our friendship at one very low point in college; but I have two other people that I consider the best of my friends.  Monique and Jennifer.

Monique and I haven't seen each other since November of 2004 when I met up with her at the Raleigh/Durham Airport in North Carolina (where we both knew it was eachother by seeing each other's shoes...random, yes.).  Prior to the North Carolina trip, we hadn't seen eachother since 1999 when my family moved from Oklahoma to Ohio.  We met in Misawa, Japan...went to school together, played on a softball team together, bowled, hung out at each others houses.  For one year I think our friendship was troubled when we were younger, but that was because we weren't in the same class after second grade.

Man, what goobs we were.  Wish I could find some Misawa Shaker's pictures.

We met in 1993, and as luck would have it we both moved to southern states in 1996.  Monique's family went to Texas, my family went to Oklahoma.  Meaning for the first time, I would have an Air Force friend who I would get to see again!  We mostly spent spring breaks together, our parents driving each of us half way, meeting up at a Sonic and swapping cars for a week vacation with together.  Sometimes my parents would travel all the way to San Antonio to spend a weekend and then leave me for the rest of the week.  We were mischevious little brats back then.  :)

We used to pretend we were twins.  Had a couple people going back then too.

I'm not sure what kind of weird things we would get mixed up in today, but it would definately be nice to see Mo again.  The weekend we spent with eachother in 2004 was so long ago and it was filled with other kinds of drama that we do not need to go in to here on this blog.  Luckily for us though, the distance hasn't ended our friendship.  Monique is now married to a really awesome guy, Steve, who I can tell loves her with his whole heart and more; and they live on the Marine Base in Hawaii.  Thankfully, she wasn't hurt in the tidal waves that hit the Hawiian coast.

We had hoped to meet up again this year at my wedding, but are not going to be able to.  Due to the happy news of Mo's mom remarrying in July as well.  Perhaps we'll meet up again in Misawa, because neither of us climbed Mt. Fuji and they say if you didn't climb Mt. Fuji while you were there, you are destined to return.  Wouldn't that be something?  To come full circle and maybe have kids of our own that are the same age.  :)

Sakura Dance - Our special part of Honor Chorus



My next best friend, and one of my Maid of Honors, has been there through everything with me.  We are almost polar opposits, but it works for us.  There are some things we have in common, though.  One is that we are absolutely crazy; another would be that we both have road rage and tend to call eachother during said road rage; and third we both absolutely love Brad Paisley.

Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night tour

Jennifer and I have been friends for longer than forever...we just didn't know it.  Jennifer and I met in Preschool on Vandenburg Air Force Base when we were 3.  We fight about the story, but I still say I was the one who invited her to play kitchen with me...but anyway.

Jennifer and I were in the same pre-school class with Mrs. Hehe (yes, let the jokes begin).



I'm smack-Dab in the front and Jenny is standing next to the teacher

 We have photos of us together during birthday parties, class parties and I'm sure pre-school graduation; but then ultimately as it always happens, one of us moved away.  After VAFB, my family moved to Japan where I would meet Monique, then down to Oklahoma (we're oddly enough, though I loved it, I didn't make any lasting friendships), then up to Ohio.  Ohio is where it gets interesting.

In eighth grade we were assigned to write a children's book for our English class.  In these books, we were supposed to write a biography.  I wrote mine about some mouse who got in trouble (I'm sure it is tucked away in a bin some place).  Jennifer and I had started talking to eachother and I became part of her crowd (she keeps telling me it was because I only had one pair of jeans and everyone else made fun of me...I prefer to think it was because I was cool).  We traded our books when we got them back and while reading the biography, we discovered that we had both lived at VAFB - which led to us discovering we had both had Mrs. Hehe - which led to the discovery of pictures.  Bam - best friends.

Oh man, am I sure I want to share these?

Jennifer and were friends throughout the rest of eighth grade and I think we finally became best friends in high school.  Jennifer was in the color guard and I played the clarinet in the marching band - so it was literally impossible to separate us.  Well, almost, but we wont go there.

Jennifer's family ultimately received orders to California and she left at the end of Freshman year, as did our mutual friend Kristen.  It was a heartbreaking summer, which would lead me to become friends with Melinda.  But!  Though we didn't see each other for three years, we still had a really close bond.  Jennifer would send me a postcard -- I would forget to send her one back -- but then I would call.  Jennifer's dad received orders to the Pentagon and suddenly Jennifer and I were within visit distance again.  The first trip that was made was by Jennifer, who came to visit soon after we graduated and helped me out with a recent breakup from a high school boyfriend.

We had gone from gangly and awkward teenages to pretty cute college gals over the years; we still are complete opposits, but we are also still crazy, with road rage and in love with Brad Paisley.  Luckily the pressures of college, life and teaching careers have not gotten in the way of our visits and our friendship.  We try to see eachother at least once a year and have been pretty successful in doing so.  Three years ago, John and I drove to South Carolina.  Two years ago, Jennifer came to Ohio and we went to see Brad Paisley

This past Thanksgiving, we met half way.  She was in GA visiting her boyfriend, Noah, so I drove halfway up and they drove halfway down and we spent the day after Thanksgiving together.


This year we will get to see eachother multiple times.  Jennifer and Noah will be arriving here in Florida on Tuesday afternoon for a few days.  Jennifer will (hopefully) be able to make it to Ohio for my first dress fitting and my bridal shower.  Then the wedding is in July.

Jennifer and My's relationship is hard to describe and even harder to explain, but it works.  I think it is because no matter how much one of us drives the other crazy, we accept eachother for who we are.  Even on the crazy side of things.

We've been friends for 22 years...how many people can say that in today's world???

But anyway, I am in need of some best friend time.  Thankfully I'll be getting that soon when Lufty-fer comes in to town.  It would be really nice, though, to get some best friend time from all three of them.  But, the good thing is, that no matter how far away I am from the three of them...I know they are right there for me whenever I need it.  That is what is important in a friendship.  Not how often you SEE eachother, but how often you are there for eachother.

Please don't take advantage of your friendships.  I've said it before, sometimes I'm a really crappy friend...and though I love them to pieces...sometimes my best friends can be a bit crappy (I love the three of you, so do not take that the wrong way); but when it comes down to it...I couldn't ask for better friends in my life, because they accept me for who I am...crazy, ditzy and sometimes just "blonde".