Happy Birthday JUJU….LOVE U

JUJU…I know I cannot be there with you to take you to Garcia’s, but I want you to know, you are such a dear friend to me.  Actually right now, I’m craving the chips and bean and cheese dip.

Julie and I honestly cannot remember where and when we met. We know we are 15 years old and met maybe in the hallway, but we clicked right away and have been inseparable since then.  This will mark 13 years of friendship and Julie…you better know that there will be 70 more to come. I’m hoping to make it to 98 years old together.

Over the years…we have been through so much together. I was there with Julie when our mutual friend and her best friend Ryan died. I remember the night she called on the phone and I just sat there as she cried.  All I could do was comfort her at 16, we were so young to have to face death.

We have told me about each of our dates since we were 16. We have sat there and laughed at each of our crazy dates and decided we need to write a book.  When things ended with S, she made sure to text me, to stay with me, to call me as much as she could.  This is my friend who has been through every up and down. She has listened at every ugly thing that has gone wrong in my life and I have for her.

We both hate Christmas music except for N’Sync. We believe in fortune tellers. We spend hours dreaming about our future and minutes putting our outfits together. We are space cases and we both cannot find our way out of a paper bag.

I love my crazy friend for making me laugh every day. For listening to my rants and ranting back with me, which we all need at times. I thank her for being so positive when sometimes, things seem grim, and she can make anything funny.   Our friendship has had a lot of great times, but our friendship has been tested due to so many tragic instances in our life. No matter what, we’ve both been there for each other and that is a true friend.  It’s easy to be someone’s friend when life is all butterflies, but the friends who stick with you through the tough times are a gem.  Juju, you are my gem.

We may not remember how we met, but Julie I will remember each moment as we venture through life together and I know how our friendship will end. Both of us sitting on the beach at 98 years old drinking pina coladas and even at 98 years old, we are going to try to find hot men on the beach.