Happy Birthday K!

Today is my longtime BFF, Kristen's, special day. She is officially "over" 30 just like me. You can learn more about her over at Livin' the Duffey Life. In the meantime I thought I would share a few special memories from our many years of friendship. I don't even think she will remember some of these.......

• Many years of friendship. I don't remember meeting K, but we were in the second grade. We have remained friends all these years minus a few altercations over some silly boys. Looking back, these certain boys were not even worth thinking about much less fighting about. Hindsight is 20/20.


• Roommates at A&M. I don't know how this came to pass since we spent a lot of our high school years fighting, but thank goodness it did. We remained roommates all through college minus the one year she had to live at the sorority house. Since we were both in college for 5 years that would make a total of 4 years living together. I would never have believed it possible, but not only was it possible, we made a really good team.


• Gossip Hotline. I think we were in the 3rd grade when we debuted our new magazine publication, Gossip Hotline. We planned to keep the elementary school gossip mills running with important information and interviews. We made two issues and I still have them. If you would like to subscribe, let me know. My need for gossip obviously started early.


• San Antonio and Schlitterbahn in the 9th grade. I don't know if K will remember, but we thought we were super cool, like most 9th graders. We swore all the lifeguards at Schlitterbahn liked us. Now, I realize they probably thought we were silly little girls. Whatever the reality, it sure made for a fun trip and lots of laughter.


• Cruise during high school junior year. It was my first cruise and I loved every minute of it. Of course, I was the one in bed early while K and her mom stayed out late. I have always been the responsible one!


• Moving day at A&M. The first day we moved into the dorm I was just getting back from fish camp. Fish camp is fun but a very overwhelming and crazy experience. I was really nervous starting my new life at college. When I got into my car, K had put a note on my windshield. I don't know how she found my car among the thousands, but she did. I don't remember the exact wording of the note, but it was welcoming me to our new life. I will never forget that note and how good it made me feel.


• Roommate Sunday. We decided we would do our roommate bonding on Sunday by going to dinner together. This lasted two Sundays, but it was a good effort.


• No shoes on the carpet. We had a nice square of carpet in our dorm room. K made a strict rule to not wear shoes on it. She was relentless about it and I made fun of her. Now I realize what a good rule it was! I don't like shoes on my carpet.


• Ghetto house. After K lived in the sorority house we decided it was time to get an apartment for our last two years of school. We didn't have a lot of time to look and picked something pretty quickly. It was not exactly nice on the outside, but we loved it. It was two story townhouse with a laundry room. What more did we need? We just had to ignore fading and peeling paint on the outside and really horrible carpet on the inside.


• Budget Suites. I have mentioned this before, but it is always worth sharing again. K and I both had internships in Dallas one summer, so she came up to look for housing. She found a room at the Budget Suites. It sounded wonderful. Two bedrooms, maid service, pool, fitness center; all the amenities you could ask for. They were also willing to let us live there short term without hefty fees, which was the biggest selling point. Upon arriving we had to flip a coin for the bedrooms. You see, one bedroom had a big hole in it overlooking the living room. I lost the coin flip, but in the end I think I actually got the better deal. We had decided that whoever got that hole bedroom would get to set the living room rules. I am all about rules, so I had a few.


• Shaggin' Wagon. K had a wreck (while talking to me on the phone) and I headed over to keep her company at the rental car company. Apparently, there was a big run on rental cars this certain day and nothing was available. K noticed there was a big, white cargo van sitting out in the parking lot. It was the type that had no window. Seeing the wheels turn in her head, she asked the agent if she could use that car. He looked at us like we were crazy, but a few minutes later we were driving off in what we proclaimed the "Shaggin' Wagon." Don't worry moms, there was no "shaggin'" taking place, just a fun name. We had so much fun with that van. That night we cruised around Northgate, where all the bars were, honking and waving at everyone. At one point we saw a guy walking to his car from a campus building. We pulled up next to him and pretended to know him. This was made even easier by the fact he was wearing a nametag. You could tell he was totally trying to figure us out, but didn't have a clue. To top off our fun wagon experience, we hightailed it to Dallas for one of K's friend's parties. We decorated the back of the wagon with rugs, pillows, curtains and even an entire papasan chair. We drew pictures with the Shaggin' Wagon name and hung them on the outside. Two others joined us in our trek and it was an adventure. I think we even ended up sleeping in the van because there was no room at the party.


• My dad's funeral. K came to Midland that very next day after she found out about my dad. I don't know what I would have done without her support. She is such a fixture in my life, that I needed her there. She stayed for several days, even missing work to be there.


• My wedding. Again, I don't know what I would have done without her. There are too many little special memories from this weekend to write here, but I will always treasure that weekend with her. I remember her being so strong and in control for me, when I was a nervous wreck.


• My spa weekend at the Gaylord. I didn't really want a full-blown shower for Landen, since he was my second. So, K and Darby planned a spa weekend for the girls. It was such a treat and became a tradition.

There are so many wonderful and special memories I have of our friendship. Like most long term friendships we have had our share of disagreements, but the good times outweigh them. We also don't get to see each other or talk very much because of little ones at home. It doesn't matter, we will always have a special bond. Like I have said before, we are really sisters and that is what being a sister is about - fighting, making up and always being there. Here is a picture from my wedding day. I love this picture of us. This is right before I walked down the aisle. She is obviously the one on the right, holding me up and just being there for me.