When Friends Touch Your Soul

I've been thinking lately about the things that are important to me, and one of those is friendships. Especially those friendships that span across your life time; those friends that know you like no other. The friends that will have memories of you that help fill in your own memory bank with things you may have forgotten. I have a friend like that. I call her my "soul sister". My relationship with Samantha spans just shy of 35 years .... once I did the math, I was in awe of how long we've been friends. We just got together over Easter when I was "home" visiting my dad. We had a wonderful time hanging out with my son and took a short walk in a nature center. This is a friendship where I get filled up every time we're together, through her tenderhearted warmth and laughter.

Fun things I remember ...
Sitting next to each other as Ms. Ourada read to us James and the Giant Peach in our 2nd grade class.

Going to camp together in Girl Scouts and taking part in our makeshift beauty pageant.

Lots and lots of sleepovers where we watched scary movies which we probably had no business watching alone (and then sneaking up into the old attic to scare each other).

Writing and passing notes back and forth in Jr. High to each other. I would address her as "Sambotray" and sign my name "Traysambo" combining our names.

Hanging out at track meets together in high school and being silly on the bus rides home.

Going out on the town together every weekend after rekindling our relationship after college. Being out together the night she met the man who became her husband.

And doing the reading at her wedding taking home a centerpiece which is now my 11-year-old African violet (above).

I am so blessed to have a dear friend like this in my life, I just had to share it and celebrate her!

I love you Sam!