22 years ago, I was 10yo, with a broken leg. I was in a cast and on crutches. My family and I were traveling to SC to help my aunt move from an apartment into her new house.
Being as young as I was, I wasn't really expected to help much with the moving, so I was exploring the backyard. I was wearing a shirt that had a bow or something that was removable. I'd lost the bow and was trying hard to find it. I was approached by a girl about my age, who was the daughter of one of my aunt's good friends. Her name was Beth and she offered to help me look for that bow. We never did find the bow, but what we found at that moment, that neither of us could have foreseen, was a lifelong friendship.
We started our friendship as penpals after that day at my aunt's, because I lived 3 hours away, in NC. We would write to each other like we were writing in a journal, with 4-5 days of entries in each letter. As we got older, letters were combined with the occasional phone calls our parents would allow...and once or twice, the $300 home phone bill that they DIDN'T allow...oops! :-)
We continued to write to each other until we were about 16yo, as well as summer visits and vacations with each other's families (Disney World, St. Petersburg, Hilton Head and OBX).
By the time Beth went off to college (in NC! But still 3 hrs from me), I was going through a rough patch in my life and ended up spending large amounts of time at UNC-G with her.
To sum it all up, I don't know where I'd be today if it weren't for her. She has been there for me through everything, from my very first crush to having my daughter, my marriage ending, my arduous journey through college and much, much more. I'd like to think I've been there for her just as much.
All of this and we've never lived less than 3 hrs away from one another.
I am so eternally grateful for her support, love and advice (even if I don't always put that advice into use...I DO hear it lol). I am especially grateful for her right now, because she has experienced some of what I'm going through right now and she's able to help me deal with it when things get difficult or when I overreact, which I am admittedly prone to doing at times.
There is something very special about our friendship and I hope that never changes. It has truly withstood the test of time, and I hope to have her in my life for at least another 50-60 years. :-)
I love you Beth, and I thank God every day that he brought us together that day, 22 years ago, to become sisters in every way but blood.
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