1978…..ahh…..those were the days. Remember blow backs, bell bottoms and Billy Beer; Earth shoes and halter tops; Charlie’s Angles and The Incredible Hulk? I was 15 years old and a freshmen in high school just trying to find my way in this world, like every other teenager. It was at this time in my life when I met Lynne, my forever friend. We were an unlikely pair to say the least and we met in an unlikely way too. It went something like this.

Lynne was my polar opposite in every way. She was long, lean and tan. I was short, chubby and white as snow. She was a Varsity cheerleader and I was Jr. Varsity. She was super athletic. I wasn’t. She had the highest kicks and jumps on the squad and I could barely get my feet off the ground. I was kinda like a stump. She was very popular with the boys and I was their buddy. I loved to shop and she didn’t. I loved fashion and she couldn’t have cared less. She smoked like a truck driver and I was straight as an arrow. Her feet stunk and mine didn’t……you get the picture.

I was totally intimidated by her. I thought she was a “mean girl” so I steered clear of her and her cheerleader friends until one fateful day.

As I was walking into class, I noticed that Lynne had a booger hanging out of her nose. I really didn’t know if I should tell her or not. I wasn’t sure if she would mash me like a bug or if she would be grateful that I told her. I thought about it for a minute and decided that if it were me, I would want to know. I walked up to her tall, lean, dark, varsity cheerleader self and said, “You need to go and look in the mirror, you have something on your nose.” She didn’t mash me like a bug, she just smiled and said “Ok, thanks”. Within minutes she came bounding back into the classroom and said, “anybody who would tell me that I have a booger hangin’ out of my nose needs to be my best friend!” That, my friend, is how our forever friendship began.

For the next three years we were inseparable. We were thick as thieves. We laughed about stupid stuff. We shared our deepest secrets and defended each other at all costs. Real buddies, we were.

Then life happened.

I went away to Bible Collage and got married. She married right out of high school and divorced a few years later. I moved away to Arkansas and had four babies. She, then single, took care of her precious mother who was fighting Cancer and later took care of her father.

Throughout the years I would run across her number and give her a call. She would do the same. We just picked up where we left off……..as if we had just talked yesterday.

There was a long stretch of time though where we lost contact all together. I was sure our friendship was too far gone this time. It had been 29 years since we were in high school. A lot had changed, we had changed but I never forgot about my forever friend.

This past summer we were reunited at an “all school” reunion (thanks Ginger). Once again we were two peas in a pod. We stayed up until four in the morning, sharing stories from our lives. We laughed together and cried together and made plans to visit each other often.

A few months later she drove for 12 hours to come take care of me after a surgery. I knew then that we had something that we would NEVER loose again. Each other!

This post is a tribute to friends. True friends. No-matter-what-friends. Forever friends! To all of my friends, past, present and future, I LOVE YOU!

I encourage you……..re-connect today!

And to you Lynne, Love your guts! Bock! Bock!