Friends Forever

Happy Birthday highschool girlfriend!
Debby moved to my hometown the summer before our 8th grade year. We hit it off instantly, I don't remember there being any question about it - we were best friends. We did so much together: We played in band, we sang together (the picture below of the two of us was taken for the yearbook the year we sang a duet for contest and baccalaureate,) were officers in FHA, cooked and sewed in home-ec, competed with one another in 4-H,business, and snow queen contests. Our sophomore year we were co-assistant editors of our highschool yearbook, and our junior year we were co-editors.

Yesterday, I took a look at that yearbook we edited, and I giggled. It has to have one of the most creative themes in the history of our highschool: Popular song titles of the day were put together to create section titles and copy (I think a senior friend, Conda, helped us think of that. We could blame her, anyway, if anyone from her class ever calls us on it); we picked shades of orange for the the cover and several inside pages; we used stars for borders, and hokey "jelly bean people" clip-art (I think our advisor is to blame for sticking those in - to fill up white space, probably.) All I could think of, while paging through it yesterday, was that I was glad it wasn't our senior annual!

And when she wasn't out on a date (which was rare, *smile*) we hung out together. I have fond memories of when our moms were taking a painting class one winter. My mom dropped me off at Debby's and picked her mom up. We spent those nights just hanging out in her room, doing nothing but talk.

When Debby signed my yearbook, she wrote "Friends Forever." She meant it. She's been such a faithful, consistent friend to me through the years. She and her husband live just a half of a mile as the crow flies from my parents, and even if we can only see each other for a short time when I am back to visit, it is always a wonderful treat.

Have a happy day, Debby! Thanks for the memories and thanks so much for being a forever friend.