The following is an excerpt written for me by my best friend. I stole it from her blog Rebeccaisfabulous.
"I met Jen when we were placed together in student housing at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Our other two roomates were athletes: one was the gymnastics co-captain, the other was the freshman cross-country star. Jen and I were decidedly un-athletic, and though all 4 of us got along, we two forged a friendship that has has lasted years.
She was in the audience at every performance I gave. I was there with ice cream when Dave left for Seattle. She and I scored the two highest grades in our American History class (aced!), despite skipping quite a few classes.
And she was there when I had to drop out of school to provide for an unexpected pregnancy. I was there to load boxes and move furniture when she finally left her ex. She was there when I found out I had PPD. I was one of the first who knew her son had a hole in his heart.
She has been around longer than my husband has. She knows my moods and understands the swings. She is brilliant and hilarious and crazy and silly and ambitious and fun and I am so very proud of her.
Happy 25th, Jen, my Gweinveire vanAlvinslavin. Here's to the next quarter century together."
In response I'd like to say; Miss Becca I have been more happy, had more fun, and felt more whole in the four years since we met than in the whole twenty odd years that were the rest of my life. The only thing I'd like to change about our friendship is having met you sooner. I love you more than I ever imagined it possible to love anyone. I love your slightly sarcastic sense of humor and the sweet laughter it coaxes out of you. I love your cool composure and your rare fiery outbursts. I love your patience, your gentleness, and your compassion. I love your ability to truly listen and then give honest advice. I love you for hating Dave or at least all the terrible things he did that hurt me. I love you for always being there, and for always being you. I love that, Kindergarten aside (haha), I learned everything important about life from you. You have taught me how to be a friend, and then how to be a good one. You taught me how to be a girl, and then a woman. You teach me every day how to be a mother, and in an odd way what it means to be a daughter. You made me learn who I am...and how to be happy with it. And if I am "brilliant and hilarious and crazy and silly and ambitious and fun," it's all because of you. I owe you a very lot. And I'm so glad you're proud of me, because I'm bursting at the seams with pride over everything that even resembles you. You know how I hate a one-way street. And Becca, please know...Florida or no Florida, wherever you are I'll be. In a heart beat. You'd have to do more than move across the entire country to get rid of me! I told you before and still it's true; I can't imagine my life without you. But the most important thing you've taught me, and perhaps the reason I love you the most is that I'll never have to.
Recca Roo, I love you. Here's to so much more than the next quarter century.
