Well, the new lingo these days, is at times, difficult (to say the least) to keep up with from TTYL (Talk To You Later) and OMG (Oh My God) and all the shortened versions of words for mobile phone texting purposes to whatever words are spoken in the tween/teen world of MTV and Rappers. I must say I do feel somewhat unconnected (but more often than not, relieved of the fact that I am) however I can also say that I DO know that the ever popular BFF represents Best Friend Forever and I not only know what BFF stands for, but what it really MEANS!
My LIFETIME BFF is my sister Wanda, we are very close, and of course I have had her in my life all of my life. We are sisters to the fullest meaning of the word and have shared and fought over everything from desserts to make-up. I spent my youth trying to be like her and she spent those same days trying to get me away from her in a "my little sister is bugging the heck out of me" sort of way. Back then, if she walked a certain way, you can be sure I was close behind her imitating that walk. When she sang, I tried to sing (I never accomplished that attempt, by the way). When she played the guitar, I listened (thankfully I knew my limits!!). When she listened to Pink Floyd, I listened to Pink Floyd. Mind you she is about five years older than me...at ten years old, Pink Floyd was hard to get into!
When she went away to college I was devastated. One time I went and spent the weekend with her...I literally counted down the days and was so excited to sleep in a real college dorm and eat cafeteria food (don't ask, I'm certain it was all about the ice cream machine!)...and she made it very special for me...she even went so far as to take down her poster of the Grateful Dead and put up the one I gave her of, yes, Jeff Conaway (hey, he was thin and popular at the time...remember him in Greese!!). We were always the 'boys" in our family of four girls...we helped Dad with "boy work", we mowed the grass, we chopped the wood, we hung out in the garage (I really never knew what to do in there and usually just played with little pieces of wood, but she was there, so I was there). Later, when I was in college and she was working and managing the family travel agency, we shared an apartment together. We were always best friends...hanging out, renting and watching horror flicks, shopping, eating, etc.
To this day and forever I can count on her to tell me when I have a huge piece of food in between my teeth and she can count on me to tell her when she has toilet paper stuck to her shoe. We don't take offense from each other and we tell it like it is to each other. If we are mad, or sad, or hyper we don't have to let out a warning because the other already knows and is doing whatever is necessary to adapt to that particular mood. Our friendship, our sisterhood is strong and is a bond that will never and can never be broken...past, present and future, I know she's got my back and she knows I've got hers...and in this world, that is quite a luxury.
When she went away to college I was devastated. One time I went and spent the weekend with her...I literally counted down the days and was so excited to sleep in a real college dorm and eat cafeteria food (don't ask, I'm certain it was all about the ice cream machine!)...and she made it very special for me...she even went so far as to take down her poster of the Grateful Dead and put up the one I gave her of, yes, Jeff Conaway (hey, he was thin and popular at the time...remember him in Greese!!). We were always the 'boys" in our family of four girls...we helped Dad with "boy work", we mowed the grass, we chopped the wood, we hung out in the garage (I really never knew what to do in there and usually just played with little pieces of wood, but she was there, so I was there). Later, when I was in college and she was working and managing the family travel agency, we shared an apartment together. We were always best friends...hanging out, renting and watching horror flicks, shopping, eating, etc.
To this day and forever I can count on her to tell me when I have a huge piece of food in between my teeth and she can count on me to tell her when she has toilet paper stuck to her shoe. We don't take offense from each other and we tell it like it is to each other. If we are mad, or sad, or hyper we don't have to let out a warning because the other already knows and is doing whatever is necessary to adapt to that particular mood. Our friendship, our sisterhood is strong and is a bond that will never and can never be broken...past, present and future, I know she's got my back and she knows I've got hers...and in this world, that is quite a luxury.
My HIGH SCHOOL BFF is Sherri...we actually met in the middle school, but we didn't actually form the bond of best friends until high school...in band camp...and well, after hearing her on the clarinet and me on the drums we knew we'd make the strangest and most hilariously fun music together for the rest of our lives. Sherri and I were also in the high school plays together...true Thespians and all the joys (and drama!) that go with daily rehearsals, costumes, and nights on the stage! We lived about 6 miles from each other and whenever we could manage it (me in my Dad's old truck, her in her Mom's old car), we kept quite inseparable throughout our teenage years. Sherri now, thankfully lives somewhat nearby in Upper Saint Clair (a very nice suburb of Pittsburgh). She works in real estate and has three children, Dylan, Kaitlynn and Shane, so we obviously don't get to spend as much time together as we would like, but we still do see each other, hang out on occasion and of course have frequent and fun gab sessions on the phone (usually while she is in her soccer-mom van commuting to/from work or in between kid drop-offs or pick-ups). Blogging about Sherri will have to take it's own individual, dedicated entry (and I'll need some time) we have stories and then some (it was the 80s, we were in high school discovering boys & beer and all that goes with them...)...here we are with her beautiful daughter Kaitlynn!
My COLLEGE BFF is Tracey.....Freshman year, Kent State University.....we met in the second semester. We lived in Engleman Hall, a single rooms dorm (it is a very OLD dorm, we even had old fashioned sinks in our rooms) ....in the first semester I had basically declared my Alpha position on 'my' wing and then found out that a new girl had moved into the one empty room on that wing at the beginning of the second semester. Well, I felt it my duty to go and tell her how things were on 'my wing'! I went over to her room, knocked, and told her some sort of BS about who I was and such, and she said "I just got kicked of the quiet floor and I'm totally into hanging out with you guys down here because it was way too study-ish for me up there!" At that moment I had to make a decision, should I love her or hate her?? Would it be all out war or total friendship? Thankfully I made the right decision and welcomed her to 'my world', we are still BFFs today....and wow, although my GPA was totally in the toilet that semester and I ended up transferring to SRU the next term, I must say Tracey and I had a "totally awesome" Spring in the year of 1985....we both had a fake IDs, her Mom lived nearby and baked cookies, we both loved alternative music, we were young, and wild and free.....life was good!
I'm so lucky to have such great friends. Since college, of course I have met and made friends with people from all over the world. We lived in South Korea and made so many friends, some Korean others from France, New Zealand, Hungary, England, Wales, the States. We lived in Houston, Texas and made great friends there (and learned to love chicken-fried steak and gumbo!) Now we are back in Pennsylvania and have made new friends from work, clubs (Slippery Rock Area Women's Club), golf, and of course still from all over the world thanks to our summer program in Austria (CSA TOURS)...still meeting and making great friends!!
Life is good......friends are GREAT!
Life is good......friends are GREAT!
1 comment:
Betty....what can I say? Not much because the tears just keep coming. I love you! I always considered you my BFF (is that what that means?) but didn't know you considered me that as well. Remember playing pictionary??? You are THE BEST!!!
Post a Comment