Best Friends

Do you remember when we were little girls
So often pretending in our own made-up worlds?
Days were filled with sneaking out the back door,
Defeating bad guys, and winning play battles in our war.

Do you remember my mom always calling us back inside
And how we would tried to pretend we couldn’t hear and hide?
Days were filled with demonstrations, messes, & aprons
As we worked on projects while shooting bad guys with nerf guns.

Do you remember being tomboys who soon grew to like boys?
We camped out down farm lanes to get away from the noise.
We would play “what if” to contemplate made-up, guy dilemmas
Comparing our real lives to characters on TV antennas.

Do you remember the excitement as we learned how to drive?
How we thought freedom was in our hands and we felt so alive
As the wind blew through our hair, we ran full speed ahead for miles
And we could belt out everything we felt to the radio for a while.

Do you remember all the plans we laid out in high school?
How we knew there wasn’t a piece of our lives we didn’t rule-
Together- simply because we said we could trade our small town
For cities & states we were certain would give our endeavors firm ground.

Do you remember those open houses in the summer and evenings?
We were so excited for beginnings that we could barely see the endings;
So convinced of what we saw as undying and fixed beliefs,
That we didn’t notice the silent air which blew in with changing leaves.

Do you remember the conversation in a parked car in a parking lot in a park?
How you “just didn’t think it was right” and it would spark
The divide which would make our friendship be more than states apart:
How desires could lead to cruel moments with no clear stop or start.

Do you remember last summer: how we both knew we had changed a little?
How everything just seemed to be coming in between and in the middle?
The seemingly simple volleyball games became a common place
Where we introduced new ideas and people to our life chase.

Do you remember the fury of the shaking trees last fall:
The faltering tone and crack in my voice as I made that call?
A season moved in where the growth in our lives would take a different color
And suddenly we would see how important it was to remember (who we were).

Do you remember that break over Christmas holiday
And how it wasn’t the same, but I wouldn’t have it another way?
The warmth of the joy which surmounted the bite of the cold
And gave a safe landing to a fall which we hadn’t foretold.

Do you remember the return to car ride songs at that time
And how I told you I knew everything was going to be just fine?
Because I remember every moment up to and beyond then
And I believe you shouldn’t give up on a once-in-a-lifetime friend.

Do you remember all our shared laughter and tears
And how they’ve collectively connected us through the years?
Because when hopes crash, burn, & overturn directions at your feet
You realize there are people that help you pave a new one-way street.

Do you remember all my ‘thank you’s’ and ‘love you’s’ throughout our time?
I’ve said the words so much, but not really enough to compensate the rhyme
Which our friendship- which you- have made sweet in the worst past tense.
It’s the harmony of honest friendship that I pray we forever sense.

Twenty years from now, I hope you remember what I’ve wrote
How much you mean to me; I hope you see that in this note.
Remember how thankful I’ll be that you’re here through life’s bends.
Always know I’m thankful to have you as a best friend.

--Written by Sandy Heights