the new 20

Erica and I met when we were five years old. We would become not only cousins, but also another term we made up, bcff's, which stood for "best cousin friends forever". Pretty clever, right?
Today is Erica's birthday, she's turning thirty. Our friendship has spanned 2 and 1/2 decades of life. When I think back over the past twenty-five years a smile comes to my face. I think of the summers we spent, glued to each other's side. Our bike rides to the YMCA and our crushes on the lifeguards there (Roger, ha!), our trips to Great America and riding the Shock Wave way too many times in a row, our adventures in Maine like white-water rafting, the year we decided to be runners and our little tiny shorts from the Y, watching the "Price Is Right" every morning while eating a bowl of cereal off a tv tray in my Dad and Sandi's basement, and our late night big bowls of ice-cream. I remember the dreams we dreamed together when we'd have sleepovers and stay up much too late. We always planned to have houses next door to each other and build an underground tunnel to connect the two.

And now, even though she is in New York and I'm in Illinois and there is no underground tunnel long enough to connect my house to her apartment, we remain connected. Being moms and raising boys and being like-minded in lots of other ways, our lives have many parallels and remain intertwined with each others.

Erica, I am blessed to have you in my life. I'm so thankful for you and for our friendship that enriches my life in so many ways. I love you! Happy Birthday!
{p.s. 30 is so the new 20!!}