Soulfriends

When I was growing up, I had lots of friends. There were different groups and cliques in my little school, but I was friends with ALL of them. My dad used to admonish me for throwing the word "friend" around so easily. He would tell me how truly blessed I would be if I had but a handful of true friends in my lifetime. I don't think I quite believed him then, but like so many other things he's said to me over the years, I've come to see the truth in his words. Don't tell him that, though. I have been blessed, because I do have a couple of those type of friends. I think I've already touched on my frustration about not being able to make new friends. So you can imagine my delight in finding out that one of my BFF is moving to Houston.

Lisa moved to my hometown while we were in junior high. We were immediate friends. Our dads were both in law enforcement and she had a wicked sense of humor. I adored her. Shortly after Lisa earned her driver's license, we decided to sneak over to one of our guy friend's houses to meet up with my boyfriend and swim. His parents weren't home and I don't recall where we told our parents we were going, but it certainly wasn't there. When we backed out of the driveway, she bumped into something and I assured her that it was just the curb. When she drove back to my house to drop me off, her father was there. Apparently, I was mistaken and she had actually ran over my neighbor's mailbox. We were totally busted and our parents all knew that we weren't were we said that we'd be. I'm not sure how it all shook out, but I'm fairly certain that I ended up being grounded. I spent MANY days grounded when I was growing up. In fact, I think I was grounded almost every winter vacation. I'll have to blog about that and the fact that my brother is a snitch another day.

Lisa is brilliant, but sometimes high school girls make really questionable decisions. Lisa got married right out of high school to a man who was...well, he was an idiot. My dad actually asked her, "What in the world are you two going to talk about?" I love my dad (so does Lisa, which is why she thought it was hysterical that he asked her that). Anyway, her husband turned out to be a real asshole and they got a divorce. She ended up legally changing her name, and joining the Air Force. She became a Russian Linguist. She got out of the military, but married a man in the Air Force and recently got her law degree. They've been stationed in Venice, Italy for awhile and now her husband is going back to Iraq and she is moving to Houston to start her own law firm while he's away. I'm worried and sad for her husband, but I am ecstatic that she is moving here. She's going to stay with us while she looks for a cheap place to live. I've tried talking her into staying with us permanently, and if we convert our storage building into a garage apartment, that just may happen. I couldn't be happier.

Lisa and I have gone months and sometimes even years without talking, but when we do see each other or talk, we pick up right where we left off. It's never awkward, and we always have a ball. Ryann and Kassem adore her. In fact, one of my first birthdays after getting married, Kassem arranged for Lisa to come down for a surprise visit. Years ago, Lisa and I were talking about how much we cherish our friendship and she said that we are soulfriends. It's the friendship version of soul mates. I love that. I think it's absolutely true. I suspect that you'll hear lots more about my soulfriend. She'll be here in two weeks, and I am positively giddy as I count down the days.