We Are All Just Mommies and Wives

I think she was my first REAL best friend.  We met in 6^th grade but I can’t remember where…..maybe band?

We both had the same dorky glasses, dirty blonde hair, and ugly nerd coats.

We were going to be archaeologists or the next Lewis and Clark.  We would go on great adventures looking for ancient artifacts or trekking through what we thought was uncharted wilderness. We were too young to care about boys and it didn’t matter anyway, because neither of us owned a bra yet.

We used to play and camp down by the river near her house.  Looking back I am surprised we didn’t die.  Making fires, severe dehydration, and seeing how deep we could go into the river before nearly being swept away……what were we thinking?

Then, in 7^th grade or so, she had to move. No more covering ourselves in mud down by the river.  No more dancing to our Madonna tape.  No more buying any more Shetland ponies at the school carnival without asking our parents. (Yes we bought a pony…at a silent auction…for something like six dollars. Our parents weren’t super excited about that one.) 

Life went on.  We wrote a bit and even got to see each other one more time, but we were twelve when we said goodbye.  Junior high, high school, boys, college, marriage, kids….etc.  And life just went on.

Suddenly, it was almost 25 years later, and I decided to look her up on Facebook.  And there she was…..my dear friend.

Like any good stalker would do, I Googled her.  What if she has play dates with Julia Roberts and I am a stay-at-home mom with butts to wipe and my hair in a ponytail?  What if she is a celebrity and I am….just me?

Turns out, she wasn’t a famous movie star or anything like that.  Oh no no no….it was much worse than that.  In different articles I found out things like she was a “former US female paragliding champion signing autographs as her equally famous husband looks on”, and also has a “PhD in Biochemistry”! 

Dang.  Really?  I am really going to ask her to be my Facebook friend?  With my heart pounding, I hit “send friend request”.  (Along with a little note that said something along the lines of, “Hey, this is Lynn….you know Lynn, and we loved the song, “Like A Virgin”, but I’m not sure we knew what a virgin was?  Lynn….that one girl who shared your wigwam or Hogan/teepee with you on that archaeology field trip?  Lynn, your best friend forever and ever that ate a LIVE minnow with you down by the river? )    

So there I was.  Three kids, a partial degree in Anthropology, and a US champion of nothing, except for maybe Elementary School Bake Sale ideas……and she accepted my friend request.

I was IN!!!  Whoo hoo!  I scanned her profile, scoped out her hubby, and lined up our children, cute to ugly.

Hmmmmmm.

Okay, my point really is that she is wonderful!  She is my old best friend, except all grown up.  Her baby girl is beautiful and she is obviously an incredible mommy! Her husband has to be awesome just because she picked him, and I am pretty sure she would give me her autograph if I asked for it.  Turns out, we both ended up as a mommy and a wife....just a different path.  No better, no worse.  Okay maybe if we are counting medals and diplomas, hers is better.  But if we are counting diapers changed and preshool graduations...I totally win.

Beefcake(using an old nickname here), thank you for being my friend so many years ago.  I am very proud of all your accomplishements and happy that you are well.  I hope someday we can meet face to face again.  I hope we can go running in a race together.  I hope my kids can babysit your kids while we go out on a double date with our husbands. (I mean why else did I have all my kids so much earlier than you?) I hope you never make me go paragliding with you because I would piss my pants.  Mostly I hope, while I drag my kids all over the world, that they meet people like you along their travels. 

Oh yeah…..not only is my friend a champion and a doctor…..she is a talented metalwork artist too! http://www.thesilverpearl.etsy.com/  Aren't these earrings AMAZING?

 I wrote this post for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop......you should go there too!

 And I found a Flashback Friday!