We have been best friends for almost 50 years.  When we first met, I was sitting on top of a slide on my swingset.  From my perch, I could see over the tall hedges that separated my house from the dead end that was behind my backyard.  It was 1967 and as her family moved into a house in the dead end, she looked up and saw me.  She thought I was really tall because she could see my head over the hedges.  I think she was surprised when we finally met face to face and I was a full head shorter than her.

At eight years old, I was very excited that a new girl was moving into the neighborhood and wanted her to “come out and play,” but her mother told me that she was enjoying having her new bedroom all to herself.  It seemed like forever before she decided to meet me, but once she did come out of her room, It didn’t take us long to become best friends.

We grew up together, through crushes and heartbreaks, through the trials and tribulations of youth.  We had a natural friendship and a bond that has never been broken.  Many years have passed, and somehow, we grew up along the way.  We had careers and marriages, we raised our children and watched them leave and go off on their own.

When we were children, we barely spent a day apart.  But now, we don’t see each other very often.  In some ways, our lives have taken us in different directions.  And yet, she still seems to know when I need her and when I do, she’s always there.

Sometimes, I think she knows me better than I know myself.  She’s my best friend.

http://www.theresadodaro.com   Author of The Tin Box Trilogy