It seems a bit cliche, but the saying 'good friends know your faults, but are still your friends in the end' really is TRUE. Friends come and go but true friends see you through it all.

My life-long friend is Patricia. We were neighbors growing up; three years apart in age but that didn't stand in the way. I remember the day she got her dog, Chi; Chi is long gone now. I remember talking endlessly especially while each of us hung on our backyard fences until the moment our Moms called us in for dinner. I remember one day playing 'Little House on the Prairie' and how we could never recreate that day. I remember Skate Country 1-4 on Sunday afternoons. I remember the insane car accident my freshman year of high school; to this day, I can see the 'spider webs' on the windshield from our heads & faces and can feel the glass in my mouth. I remember how intimidated we were by each other's fathers (may they rest in peace). I remember her LONG insane labor and the birth of my godchild, Jennifer. That is only a sample of the fabulous memories.

We haven't lived near each other since 1990. It's almost 1/2 my life that we've been apart. But we've stayed connected. Patricia and Jennifer were able to come for a visit recently. I hadn't seen them since March of 2002, Amanda's baptism. They came from their quiet mid-western home to my crazy CA home with four little kids.
Me and my beautiful godchild, Jennifer. She was a wee 6yo girlie in my wedding; look at her now - a college girl.
The girls -- Amanda, Jennifer & Patricia (Amanda is Patricia's godchild)
Laguna Beach, a reminder of one of the benefits of living here

Too short of a visit.
I'm pretty sure I saw them pulling ear plugs out of their ears as I dropped them off at the airport.