When does a friend become a soul sister...?
From my experience, there is not a certain life changing event that determines this for
you such as a wedding or having a child would, nor is there an “aha”
moment. You won’t be sitting at the bar or at your friend’s baby shower and
suddenly realize that this friend is truly connected to you in life and no
matter what happens to you, she will be there. A friend becomes a Soul Sister
unexpectedly and over time.
Unlike a fairy tale, Amber and I
didn’t just have one conversation and immediately know it was "friendship at first sight". Amber
and I didn’t even click right away, it took years of hanging out, loving each other,
hating each other, crying together, and laughing together to build the
friendship we have today.
I met Amber in band class when I
was in sixth grade. Amber played the trumpet and I played the flute. We started
a conversation by telling each other how much we both hated our band teacher in
general, but specifically that day because we had to watch The Wizard of Oz in
the dark and he wouldn’t let us sleep instead. After our initial conversation,
it took a few years before we became best friends and little did everyone know,
they were in for big trouble!
Once we hit high school, Amber and I
were inseparable. We did everything together. We were together so
often that our own friends and families would call us by the others name (they
still do today). Looking back, Amber and I weren’t just best friends at that
point in our lives, we were family. Like many families, we had our own ways of
doing things such as pressing our favorite numbers on the telephone when making
promises (2 for me and 5 for Amber), going by our first and middle names, and
wearing the same style clothes but in different colors.
As many teenage girls are,
Amber and I were boy crazy and got into a little trouble. I still laugh when I
think about Amber telling her dad that I gave her the big hickey on her neck or
when she told her mom that I gave her the condom that her parents found in her
pocket. That one actually got me into trouble because her mom called my mom and
then my mom asked me why I was giving out condoms. I gave my mom the
excuse that they were handing them out at the YMCA teen night. It wasn’t
totally a lie since the YMCA did hand out condoms, but I usually didn't take them and
if I did, I would blow them up like a balloon rather than give them to one
of my friends. Another time when Amber and I had boys over at her mom’s house
while her mom was gone. One of the guys was walking up the stairs with his
backpack on and accidentally knocked over Amber’s mom’s shelf and broke some of
her glass chickens which also resulted in breaking the pot of one of her
plants. When Amber’s mom got home, we blamed everything on their dog, Pepper.
Amber’s mom then made us re-pot the plant. When we went into the garage to get
the new pot, we accidentally broke all of the pots in the garage. I think we laughed for
over an hour about this. We finally went inside and explained that we couldn’t
find any usable pots. Shortly afterward, I dropped the spoon while making spaghetti and
Amber’s mom yelled at us “I’m done with both of you, I will be back in a few
minutes” and went outside. Looking back, I really miss those worry free and
crazy days even though she made me look like I was always the one with all of the bad
ideas.
As adults, Amber and my
friendship has been a roller coaster. We both have experienced so many up's and
down's and have been there for each other through everything. There were times when we were both single and more than
ready to mingle, and times when we hated the other’s current boyfriend. There
were times when we were annoyed at each other and times when we had nothing but
love for each other. Amber even sent a “Don’t tell Erin I sent this to you”
message on Facebook to the guy I wouldn’t shut up about. Thanks to her and my
direction of course, he is my current boyfriend of two and a half years.
There was about a year though when
Amber and I rarely spoke. I was not at a good point in my life and decided
that others meant more to me than any friends I had. I had recently lost my house,
along with everything else I had and was living with my parents. I found a way
to get out on my own again, but it wasn’t the right choice to make. Instead of
listening to my conscience, I did what I thought was the best decision at the
time. I lost a few friendships by making the decisions I did and that decision
lead me into an even deeper black hole in life. I remember sitting in my living
room crying my eyes out because I didn’t know what my next step was going to
be. I felt like I didn’t have anyone to talk to other than family, and I wanted
the honest and complete truth. I was terrified to pick up the phone and call
Amber, but I did. I left her a message that she probably couldn’t understand as
I was hysterical. She called me right back and she was brutally honest with me,
but in the nicest way possible told me her opinion and what the next steps I should
take were. I knew she was right and did what I needed to do to put myself back
into the best situation I could. I am very thankful that I called her that day,
because I truly believe talking to her pushed me to do what I should have done
all along and that was listen to my gut.
*Super proud of you sis, thank you for sharing your Soul Sister story! Love ya, Geli*
Nice job chickie, I love it
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