my best friend... that moved away...

for those of you that don't know me (i feel like i'm giving a talk or something) i am notorious for complaining that my best friend has moved away. every one of my best friends, yes, every single one, has moved away from me.

it all started with my piano teacher's daughter... i took piano for almost two years and instantly became friends with the family, namely her youngest daughter. we would play at her house, my house, the church, pretty much anywhere and when we weren't together we were on the phone with each other. i absolutely adored her little brother. he is autistic and the most loving little boy i've ever met in my life! he would draw me pictures and make me things and give them to me every week when i came for my piano lesson. then they decided to move to Utah... from then on, i always referred to her as "my best friend... that moved away..."

then there was my high school best friend... we became instant friends when i asked her to pop my back on the bathroom floor one day between classes. (yeah, that sounds gross, but we put our jackets down...) we wrote notes in class, sat at the same lunch table every day, saved seats for each other at assemblies, and were practically inseparable. when we weren't sitting next to each other or talking during passing periods or lunch we were texting during class... i'm pretty sure that we got in trouble daily by different teacher for not paying attention. she introduced me to TDM (Taco Del Mar) and i have since been addicted. she moved away to college after she graduated and thus became "my other best friend... that moved away..."

i started working at Lowe's right out of high school and instantly fell in love with the people there. they all had so much to talk about and so much to teach! i learned so much from the people i met at Lowe's about fixing things and life in general. one friend, who recently passed away, actually convinced me to stand up to management and demand that they actually consider my SECOND request to move from the front to the Lumber department, even though i'm a girl. it worked! i happily worked in Lumber for three months until one manager found so many round-about reasons to have me moved that i was put in Hardware/Tools... you bet i gave him a heck of a time every time i saw him... i have very little respect for authority... especially when people use "unrighteous dominion". he convinced me that Plumbing was where i needed to be. i have to admit that i learned the most being in the Plumbing department. he was the greatest friend i could ever have. he was smart, humorous, and treated me like his daughter. every day he told me how much i reminded him of his daughter and because of that i was his favorite. he taught me about everything i needed to know about fixing any plumbing issue anyone could come up with. he taught me about life. he taught me the true meaning of "federally mandated 15-minute rest periods" aka: Little Debbie Snack Cake Breaks... he will always be the greatest Italian i've ever known. he is in Heaven now, and what a party it must be up there!! he is "my other best friend... that moved away..."

after the first time i met "sponge" i'm pretty sure we became instant best friends. we went bowling with the Lowe's Bowling Crew (that i was in charge of) and went to Denny's after doing overnights for inventory prep. and inventory... we talked or texted almost every day... we vented to one another about how stupid people are and how irritated we were with this and that and the other. he taught me how to be more compassionate and how to try and look at things from someone else's perspective when i'm upset with them. he taught me how to laugh uncontrollably at the simple things, because laughter truly is the best medicine. he taught me how to love unconditionally. he's the greatest example of pure love. if you could all see the way he treats his little sister, you would know what i'm talking about... she has Downs Syndrome and that makes it difficult for her to communicate with others. she got more comfortable with me around after he and i had been friends for a while and would say hello to me. she's the best. if i didn't have him i wouldn't have much!! i'll always remember the week we spent with his family in Cannon Beach... i think i decided that that is one of my favorite places on earth. he moved away to school up in Bellingham and we rarely get to spend time together. but we will always be best friends and he will always be "another best friend... that moved away..."

when i started attending my singles ward most of the older singles already knew me because of my sisters, so i was a shoe-in for having lots of friends. but one in particular was the best of them all. she's a couple years younger than me, but she really knows how to have fun! she lights up a room with her smile. she is the life of any party, and she makes me smile... she and i bounce off each other and have a good time every time we're together. she and i are true Partners In Crime... ahh the drive-by's... ahh the late nights... ahh the texting and phone minutes we've used over the last while... CRAZY. she is the shoulder i cry on, the one i bounce my ideas off of, the sound-board i vent at when the world is just too much... she moved away to Utah to go to school and work last year and i've been buddy-less ever since... i miss her very much. but i'll get to see her again soon!! she is "my best friend... that moved away..."

there's also another friend... he's pretty freaking awesome. we got along from day one. he and i met while i was at school in Idaho. he would come visit me and we would go and dork around at the park. he visited me when all my roommates, all five of them, ditched me for a weekend. he taught me how to ride and not be afraid of a skateboard. he taught me how to ride and not eat it... well at least in a straight line... we're still working on the whole turning thing... he listens to me when i've had a hard day. we do homework together... well... we do his homework... we talk about everything and anything. he tells me about what he's doing and what's going on in his life. we "web cam" like nerds and chat on MSN because this time... THIS time, it was ME that moved away from my best friend... sadly we didnt become BEST friends until after i had left school. but we did have our good times while i was there. i cant wait to see him again too!! we really need to stop talking about it and just visit each other... but he is definitely one of the coolest guys i've ever met. and that's saying a lot, especially coming from someone who has mostly GUY friends... he is "my best friend... that i moved away from..."

story of my life...

-kmw-