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| Double rainbows with Shannon outside of the Bakery. |
Unsurprisingly, this gives me feelings of both nostalgia and pride. I'm so happy for her and excited for the new chapter she is about to begin, but I'm just going to miss her so much. Shannon and I met when we were in 8th grade, which feels like it has been both eons and mere days ago. Although we had a similar circle of friends, we did not really become close until the summer of 2002, our freshman year of band camp. We bonded over a mutual love of Fairly Oddparents and the love/hate relationship we both had with marching band.
Throughout high school, we were inseparable. We would spend Friday nights at football games, weekends seeing cheap movies at the Ready, afternoons driving around listening to Keith Urban and Panic! at the Disco. We'd sit on the beach with our friends Gyllie and Stephanie, watching the waves roll in and squinting to see the lights of Chicago along the horizon. Those years were filled with train rides to Chicago, slumber parties in my parents' basement, sneaking out to cemeteries in hopes of finding a ghost, or at least an antidote for the ever-present small town boredom.
As years passed and physical distance grew, we kept in touch. But the ebb and flow of adulthood commenced, phone calls and visits would sometimes be sporadic, but still the friendship remained. Shannon stood next to me on my wedding day, kept me classy at my bachelorette party, and shared one too many bottles of champagne with me on my porch. She has seen me through frizzy hair and embarrassing moments, awkward crushes and finding soul mates. Always, she has been just a drive away. Close enough to have a semi-spontaneous weekend drink, but far enough away to always carry a small ache of missing my best friend.
Today, the physical distance between us will get a little further. Visits will now require plane tickets and a bit more coordination. Weekend drinks may have to be shared over Skype. Phone calls will be more frequent than crashing on each other's couches. But if 12 years of friendship has taught me anything, it's that she will always be there.
Best of luck on your new adventure, Shannon. I love you and I'm so very proud and honored to call you my friend. Take Texas by storm, but always know that you have a home here in the Mitten. XOXO
Good luck to Shannon on her move. I wouldn't know what to do if my bf moved far away. I swear she knows me better than my husband does.
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