Dear Christy

Dear Christy, It was raining cats and dogs, and you didn't want to leave the safety of the couch... but because you loved me, you obliged. Nebraska Furniture Mart looked intimidating from the outside, but we decided it would be an adventure.

Neither one of us had ever been there. Our jaws dropped.

We went first to the kitchen section, and then to the lights section. With your Culinary Arts major and my Photography major, we balance each other out.

You've always balanced me out, since we were little girls. You see, neither one of us really remembers when we met... But we remember being best friends from day one.

But before we grew older, your family moved you away... and we had a choice. Stay friends or let our friendship fade.

We kept it alive by being pen-pals, and when MSN Messenger was invented (thank you, internet!), we met every day at 1 o'clock to chat for exactly one hour.

We spent our childhood planning our Barbies' lives and we spent our teenage years planning our lives... and everyone else's lives - we were so good at that, weren't we?

But long distance relationships are hard. It's easy to miss things. Life happens so fast and it takes so much work to stay in touch (but thank you, cell phones!).

You didn't meet Sunil, and I didn't meet James until after we were both dating... and even after I got married and moved even further away, we somehow stayed connected through it all.

Because we knew it was worth it. Worth the energy, worth the time and worth the effort.

So thank you.

Thank you for being my friend since who-knows-when.

Thank you for knowing me longer than anyone else besides my family (that's SO weird to think about!).

Thanks for playing Barbies with me when we were so little... and for all the 1 o'clock appointments over the years.

Thanks for being patient with me while I went through my "Let's ALWAYS match!!" phase (I know it was embarrassing)...

Thanks for encouraging me with my photography, and believing in me even when I didn't think I could really run my own business.

Thanks for all the rainy camping trips, the bike rides, the endless hours of Lord of the Rings Extended Edition extra features (yeah baby!!), the "Let's try on every dress in the store!" shopping trips, and the really really embarrassing pictures we took of each other (you're sworn to secrecy, young lady!).

Thanks for being down to earth and realistic, and for praying over me when I needed it most.

But most of all...

Thanks for being my friend.

I love you. :)

(PS - MYLYSYS. Remember our secret codes?)