Today (If I Could...)

This morning I had to go back home to pick something up after I had already dropped the girls off at daycare. Now, it is a rare occasion when I am in the car by myself. Today I thought...

wouldn't it be nice if I could just swing by and pick up my friend Jennifer in my new Nissan Altima? (OK, it may not be a sports car, but after 3 years of driving a mini-van, it feels pretty good!) We could ditch the kids for a few hours and go to Chili's or The Olive Garden for lunch and talk away for the better part of 2-3 hours? I would totally do that if I could!

OK, so the fact that she lives several states away is an issue.

And I have no idea who we could ditch our collective 5 kids with for several hours.

And we would just end up talking about our kids and husbands the whole time and then miss them and run back home to them.

BUT I TOTALLY WOULD, IF I COULD.

I met my friend Jennifer in the 8th grade. Without getting into specifics about our ages and all, let's just say that 8th grade was some time ago. My church youth group was going to spend the weekend at her church having a youth group weekend retreat. She was sitting at the registration desk checking people in. I noticed she was left-handed. I ALWAYS notice when people are left-handed, because I am too. That's how we struck up a conversation and we have been friends ever since.

So, we have never lived in the same city? No problem! We started writing letters back and forth in 8th grade and we remained pen pals for years. Our church youth groups got together for church camps, etc. so we ended up seeing each other in person at least 2 times a year. She's the kind of friend who I can go months without talking to her (even though that hasn't happened in a LONG time) and we just pick up where we left off.

Thank goodness for the invention of e-mail! I know, Big Mama never thought it would take off, but it has saved our aching little hands. And our friendship. Because who has time with our 5 collective children to sit around and write letters? And find stamps and envelopes? And mail them? (Sometimes we can't find the children!)

We have been e-mail pen pals since like 1995 or 1996. We have written our way through many pregnancies, several miscarriages, many moves, job changes, babysitter searches, breastfeeding, and lots of everyday nothingness.

I love her to death. She's short and cute and I feel like Gigantor when I'm with her. She's worries and thinks about things more than any one brain should be capable of doing. And I totally get her.

That is why today, if I could, I would take her to lunch.