Anyway, if you did the math, you figured out that she and my brother have been married a long ass time. They’ll celebrate their 31st anniversary next month, meaning she got married at the tender age of 18. Uh huh, with the ink barely dry on our high school diplomas, she found herself floating down the aisle and saying “I do.” Thus embarking on the road to marital bliss.
Donna and I met when we were 15 and have been a part of each others lives for 34 years. Snorts, that’s longer than most marriages! My family had just moved to Ft. Worth and I was, well, I was pissed and more than likely had a pretty big chip on my shoulder. We moved from Wichita where I was just getting settled into my new high school and the new friends that I had made. Moving during high school is hard enough ~ now, in the middle of my sophomore year, we moved again and once again, I had to start all over. It wasn’t easy. Matter of fact, it sucked. It was hard fitting in when the kids there had been friends since junior high or longer and cliques had been formed long ago.
Donna’s mom was the Avon lady and after meeting my mom and discovering that she had a daughter at home my age, she immediately sent Donna around the corner to meet me. Didn’t go well at all. I mean seriously, at 15, do we really want our mother’s telling us to go make nice with the new kid?
Because she lived just around the corner, at the end of the school year, we became closer. We were only 15 and neither of us could drive....lol. We did, however have a great summer. We were 15 ~ young and carefree and at that age where really, friendships could come and go on a whim. As it was, she met my brother before we moved back to Wichita at the end of that summer and the rest, as they say, is hisotry.
As the years went by, we shared many life experiences. We went through high school together via long distance. I cried to her about my boyfriends - or lack thereof, and we talked and laughed as girls that age are wont to do. She and my brother got married and four years later, I was saying “I do” myself. We were even lucky to be pregnant at the same time ~ Lynsay and my nephew Corey are only 3 months apart.
Interesting odd fact about us ~ all of our kids were either born on the 21st or the 25th of the month. I know!! Weird!
Anyway, this is just my way of telling Donna Happy Birthday. Of letting her know how much she means to me and how I treasure the woman that she is. Our friendship, as you can see, didn't come and go on a whim. Instead, it's thrived out of love and mutual respect for the past 34 years.
As families, especially those who have thousands of miles separating them, we don’t always talk as often as we should. Getting together in the flesh is even worse. Life, family and jobs get in the way of getting together. Admittedly, I don’t always make the effort that I should but I hope that she knows that I love her. I admire her. I respect her. She is a true yellow rose of Texas. And, one of the strongest women that I know.
Happy Birthday, Donna ~
I love you ~
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