First Best Friends

K and her very first best friend, T.

These two have been friends for a very long time. They met when they were in preschool together at age four. From the very beginning, they were two peas in a pod. T's mom and I became very good friends. T has an older sister J's age and we all used to hang out together a lot when the kids were younger.

We biked and hiked, had campfires, did Girl Scouts and softball and basketball together. T's dad was the girls coach and T's mom was their Scout leader. There were lots of sleepovers, trick or treating together, cookie baking, dance classes and recitals. We went to the movies, playgrounds, swimming at the lake.

T called my MIL "Grandma" and my sister became "Auntie C". T became a member of the family. She was like a daughter to me.

But then life happened. The girls grew up and we moved to another town. Not far, but far enough that we didn't see them as often as we would have liked. We tried to get the girls together but they both got busy with school activities and it became less and less as time marched on. We've kept somewhat in touch through the years - Facebook is wonderful for that - and the girls text each other every now and again. 

The four of us girls have started to meet at local wineries to catch up with each other. It's nice. It's nice to have old friends who share a lot of history. 

So this past weekend we met at one of those local wineries. K took Little Man O with us since they hadn't met him yet. We sat outside at a table next to the grapevines and ate brunch foods and drank wine and enjoyed the warm fall weather and sunny day. We moved on to a brewery next door to the winery to sample some of their beers. We talked and laughed and just enjoyed each other's company for a little longer.

But as all good things must do, the afternoon came to an end and we had to pack up to head home. We hugged each other and made promises to keep in touch more often. I looked over at K and T and saw T wiping her eyes, crying.

"What's going on?" asked T's mom and I.

T could barely say it, "K just asked me to be a bridesmaid." And she cried some more. Happy tears, they were. T's mom and I looked at each other, both of us smiling. 

Remembering two little girls who had been first best friends. 

__________

We all hugged some more and I told T that K couldn't get married without her first best friend beside her. I told her that we loved her so much she was like a daughter to us. 

She smiled through her tears and told me that I was the only other mother she had ever known. Honest to gracious, it was one of the nicest moments in life.