My crazy friends

My mother has always told me that she never worried about me making the "wrong" kind of friends. She told me I had a talent for finding people who were good. For the most part, I wholeheartedly agree. If I am to be judged by the people I love and hang out with, I think I would be judged well. My good friends not only reflect what I believe, but they strengthen my own reflection.

Why am I thinking about this right now? I just met up with Colleen and Carl at an IHOP this morning. For a couple of hours, we reminisced and laughed and I was again reminded why I love these two people (and their amazing spouses).

For those of you who don't know Colleen and Carl, they were my very good friends from high school. Both of them had their "adventurous" moments in their lives (ie: Colleen had blue or pink hair for much of her teenage years), but both of them provided me with a wonderful friendship that I'm glad we still enjoy today. I just wanted to tell a little about my crazy friends for those of you who care.

Colleen. She and I first met at church when we were 14. I knew the instant I met her that we would be friends. After that first day of meeting her, I kept looking for her at church, but her family made their annual pilgrimage to Arizona and stayed there for many weeks. I remember thinking, "My friend is coming back - I just need to be patient." She eventually resurfaced, and while we weren't always inseparable, I believe we were always in each other's minds. I worried about some of her ways, but I always knew that she was good in her heart. I always figured that she was too smart to do anything stupid (and she was!). I think I might have been one of three or four people who weren't surprised AT ALL that she married a returned missionary in the temple. She has always brought out the best in me, which many times included a little craziness. I think she made me come out of my shell and experience new things more than any other friend I've had. For that I will be eternally grateful.

Carl. He and I knew each other for several years, but we became really good friends right around my 16th birthday. I know this because for my birthday present, he gave me my first date. He was dating one of my friends at the time, but he thought it would be cool to take someone out on their first date. It WAS cool. He wrote out clues (in his AWFUL handwriting) and made them look all pirate-y by burning the edges. I had to guess what we were doing by the clues. He had a plastic sword and treasure box in the back of his fantastic old car (didn't we call that car Gurtie?). We had sandwiches at the park, went miniature golfing and just plain enjoyed ourselves. It was the best first date a girl could have asked for. He didn't have the best grades in high school, but I always knew he was smarter than high school. I'm glad he married a woman who believes in him enough that he became the man he is now (an eye doctor with 7 kids!!)

I'm glad we were able to spend some time together today. We are all definitely older than our teenage selves, but we're still the same people I love to be around. Thanks you two for taking in a nerd like me! Love you guys!