More than a decade

Let’s return, for a moment, to 10+ years ago. Before the turn of the century, before text messaging, Facebook, and Blackberries. Let’s journey back to revisit a more innocent time in all our lives to talk about the most significant encounter to date.

Though the memories of the initial interactions with this person are fuzzy, I’ll do my best to recount the scene in most vivid detail. It was a spring day, and my friend Rachel was having her first boy/girl party (yep, we’re going that far back). She invited a number of my close friends, and others that I had met in passing. Our middle school was made up of five or six elementary schools from around the district, so it tended to take a few years for everyone to get acquainted, given the timid factor of most 12-13 year olds; but Rachel’s party was the perfect place.

There was food, music, games, and dancing – your typical junior high party. During the festivities I started playing games with some of the kids I was not quite so familiar with (I enjoyed meeting new people, even back then). But little did I know that one of these kids would become one of the most important people in my life – and someone I still play games with today!

From day one our personalities meshed. He was fun, and sarcastic (even as a middle schooler) and he brought out the best in me. The remainder of our middle school and high school years were spent together in the lunch room when we shared the same lunch period, and we kept the same circle of friends for years. A senior project brought our relationship even closer and we ended our high school careers with a flourishing friendship. When we went away to college we managed to talk weekly for those long four years, and found ways for one of us to make the eight hour trip just to hang out for a weekend. Even today our friendship remains strong from a distance; though I can’t express how much I miss him every day. And of all days, I wish I could be there with him today.

But enough of my reminiscent, sappy post.

Happy birthday, Adam!

Here’s to the next decade as best friends.

Cheers!

-A