Five Minute Friday – Friend

I’m hooking up with Five Minute Friday. You write for five minutes unedited about one word. Today’s word is friend.

Friend

It was the summer of “87” we were both nineteen, just kids really. We were both working at a ground cover nursery for the summer–both making money for college. I’d been working for several weeks but it was her first day. We stood around placing plants into pots and shooting the breeze (about ten of us). Somehow we got on the topic of colleges–everyone putting in his or her two cent’s worth. I attended a community college and she Miami of Ohio. Somehow the majority of us decided folks that attended Miami were stuck up snobs (please forgive me all Miami students and alumni). She quickly speaks up and says, “I go to Miami.” We had to do some quick back pedaling, a bit of apologizing, a swift topic change, and all was forgiven. It’s truly amazing that such a great friendship started under those circumstances–God has walked beside the two of us and given us trails at opposite times, so that we’ve always been able to spur one another on. We attended each others weddings. We each had four babies all relatively the same ages. However, last summer she added a little girl through adoption to her tribe. We’ve celebrated birthdays, gone on train rides and visited pumpkins patches together. Spent hours watching our children play at the beach in the sand and waves. Gone on vacations and once even made our husbands get up at 3 a.m. to take us and our 4 babies to a Disney parade. We’ve done life together.

She has moved to other states and once half way round the world (Australia) to obey God’s call on her life. The distance has never severed the bond or love we have for one another. God has given us a gift in this friendship–two women sharing the ups and downs of life and praising our Creator for His glory and faithfulness.

This summer she and I will be traveling to Canada with our two oldest daughters for a mother and daughter retreat. It will be a sweet time. We don’t always see one another as often as we would like, but when we do we pick up like we were together just yesterday.

Picture taken the fall after we met. She’s on the left, I’m on the right. We were going to a party that was themed Christmas thus the red and green. It was the 80’s so that explains the hair.

Her name is Sherry and I am privileged to call her friend!

Blessings, Kasey