You, yeah, you.

So I have this friend. Let's call her "Laroo." Laroo and I have been friends for years. We have shared experiences that have bonded us beyond casual friends. We were pregnant together, complaining about morning sickness and gaining weight. We spent countless hours lamenting over our evil boss and even more evil supervisor. We fought. We exchanged hurtful words, but we always ended up right back where we were. Good friends. From early into our friendship, I could tell she was someone who would always be in my life.

Then we had a silly fight. Really it was stupid. But it made us both act in a way that we never should have. I was hurt and pissed. She was mad, possible embarrassed, but mostly I think she needed to break the tie between us to make a very hard decision. I think had our friendship been in tact, she would not have been happy with the choice her husband and her made to move out of state. She would have been resentful of him. I think it was easier to be mad at me, even over something stupid, than to have to say goodbye and be mad at her husband. I think perhaps that is why that fight got blown so out of proportion. At the time, I didn't get that. At the time, it made me say I would never forgive her.

Eventually, we had to talk again. We both long ago quit working for the evil man, let's call him "Ike," and were doing contract work for my aunt. I needed to confirm her work availibility. It took two emails before we were on the phone, apologizing for our mistakes and catching up on almost a year of missed friendship. However, I was still guarded with her. More and more over time, I found myself calling her to talk. Then I hit a rough day. I was crying, I needed a friend. Out of instict, I called her. Before she even answered, I realized that I had to make sure this friendship lasted. No matter what had happened.

The other thing I realized is that she has changed, a lot. I am not the same person I was a few years ago. It hit me around 25 that I truely needed to grow up. I think Laroo hit that point over this past year. Actaully, over the past few months. Not that she was immature or naive before, but suddenly she had a different outlook on life. She realized what really mattered, what really made a friend, how much her family meant to her. She learned to confront people (sort of!) and how to apologize. Deep down, she still has all of the things that make us good friends, but she also has more.

Recently, her family made the decision to move back home. And I am excited. I can't wait to have her back home. I know we had a big fight, said stupid things, and learned to distrust each other, but we are beyond that now. I am glad to have your friendship. Now, come the hell home!