{I'm so glad there's her}

In 1998 Amber and I walked together at graduation.  It would be eight years before I'd see her again.  2006 came and we reconnected.  It was God answering my prayer for a friend.  I needed a friend.  Once we reconnected there was pretty much no separating us after that.  Except when the summer of 2009 came.  And then we were on a break.  A miserable break for a year.  Where I didn't know what to do with myself.  And then 2010 came, thank God, and all was right in our friendship again.  

We all need that friend that even when it goes wrong, it can go right again.

Everyone needs a friend who will wear a prom dress with them in public.

Or even in private.

Like in a dressing room.

Everyone needs a friend who will drive 400 miles round trip with them to see Johnny get Baby out of the corner.

And to measure noses with Rolos.

Everyone needs a friend who will do dishes every time they come to your house.

And who will fight for you on FB when no one else will.

Everyone needs a friend who will cotton ball a truck on a freezing night.

Everyone needs the friend who will drive to see New Kids on the Block with you (at age 28).

And who will ward off the nice man asking if we need help since the hood is up, unaware that I'm attached to a breast pump that's attached to an inverter, that's attached to the battery.  And that's why my hood was up.  Everyone needs a friend who will take a picture of that moment too.

Everyone needs that friend you can double dog dare to answer the Layaway Dept's phone at WalMart.

And then ride bicycles with in WalMart.

Everyone needs the friend who will paint your toenails in the hospital after you've had some cancer and half your colon removed.

And who will buy you a Justin Bieber alarm clock for your birthday.

And everyone needs a friend who prom pose with you.

We all need that friend who will take care of us when we've had too much to drink, who will put you in jammies, put you to bed, and fill in the blanks the next day.  Or three.  And tell you that you were fine.  Just fine.

Everyone needs the friend who will go with them to buy a nursing bra.  And try to hide their shock that it's a size 36E.  Though the shock is not hidden well.

We all need the friend who will pose in Ikea.

And take more pictures in prom dresses at Ross.

And who will double dog dare you to wear your bike helmet for an hour of yoga.

We all need that someone to sit on a barstool with at our favorite bar.

And who will rock duckface with us.

We need a friend who understands acronyms and inside jokes.

DMW.  DCM.  HFMM.  JSYK.  PJAL.  PAWL.  *@*

And who will take even more pics in yet another dressing room with us.

Before having drinks even!

We need the friend who will tell us to shut our stupid face.

Who will hang out poolside or riverside.

And everyone needs a friend who looks cute in a sombrero.

We need a friend who sits beside us in church.

Who buys the baby blanket you were dreaming of.  And that baby at age 5 still loves that blankie.

We all need a friend who is willing to try on leopard print jammies in Target.

We need the friend who makes us laugh so hard we cry and snort.  Which sends us into fits of laughter even more.

We need the friend who will commit misdemeanors with us by stealing those orange cones on the side of the road.

Everyone needs a friend who will send us flowers when we've had a shitty day. and the card reads "!!!!!" and i know that those exclamation marks mean, "hey, it's been a bad day, i can't fix it. and these flowers can't fix it. but i'm thinking of you. and it's going to get better.  you're going to get better."  

We need the friend who loves us when we aren't lovable.

I have that in Amber.  I have all of this in Amber.

Today is her birthday.

And I'm so glad there's her.

I love you, Dorothy.  Here's to 33.

XO, 

Blanche