That happened to me about 10 years ago. It was during my freshman year of college at what was then Troy State University. I had just pledged a sorority and was trying my best to make friends with people that I hadn't grown up with. It was raining, or at least had been raining, and we bonded over a mudhole in a sister's driveway.
Her name was Nicole Baize, and I liked her instantly. Anyone who was willing to slip n'slide into a puddle of mud just because was someone I wanted to call "friend".
If memory serves, and sometimes it's a little blurry from that era of my life, we then decided to take an impromptu trip to the beach. And we've been rocking and rolling ever since!
From then on, we were inseparable and quickly moved in together. It was common knowledge around campus that you wouldn't find one of us without the other. We were a package deal, although there is some debate as to who was the leader and who was the sidekick.
Like good friends do, we were there for each other in all types of situations. We hosted a couple of mean keg parties together. We spent quite a bit of time at the "Creek Donk Lodge" in Elba, AL. We saw the sun come up on way too many occasions. There were too many nights to count that we spent lying in her bed talking about stupid boys and their stupid ways. And then there were the nights we talked about the good boys and their good ways.
I literally can't remember all the times we've laughed until we cried. To this day I can't even listen to "Welcome to the Jungle" or "I Wanna Kiss You All Over" without thinking of her. And no matter how fabulous they make fraternity row, no house can ever top our nights spent at the Pi Kappa Phi house off campus.
We have grown up and grown closer in lots of ways since those wild college days. We've been in each other's weddings. We've welcomed children into the world. We've called each other for decorating, shoe purchasing, and first birthday party advice. We've cried together again through a lost parent, fights with husbands, and scary job situations. And yet somehow, through it all, we still remain the constants in each other's lives.
I'm so glad we rolled in that mud puddle all those years ago. And I'm so glad you decided to be my roommate! Those years spend living down the hall from you were some of the best of my life. Our friendship has changed, deepened, grown, and strengthened over all these years, and I realize today more than ever how truly blessed I am to have you in my life!
I pray that one day when Charlotte goes over to college she finds a friend like you. Someone to take care of her, laugh with her, cry with her, and most of all...someone who isn't afraid to jump in that mud puddle just because.
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