Friendships have always meant the world to me, perhaps because I have moved so frequently during my adult life. I make friendships easily and cling to them fiercely. Receiving Christmas cards from friends and old neighbors is my favorite part of that holiday. One friendship stands out as it had survived the test of time and space. It was recently renewed in person after more than 73 years!

Louise and I grew up across the street from each other in a suburb of Cleveland. We were 4 and 5 when we became best friends. Since neither of our families owned a television, our days were filled with make-believe.

Playing school was one of our favorite activities. Though she is nine months younger than I am, Louise was always the teacher and I, the student. Interestingly, she taught school for 50 years and achieved a Master's Degree in Counseling. As for me, I continued going to school through my mid-forties. As little girls do, Louise and I played dress-up many afternoons. We used two of my mother's old bridesmaid dresses to create our fashions. Those dresses were in shreds by the time we were 9!  

Around age 6, we decided to decorate the neighborhood for May Day. It was quite a ritual to gather early spring flowers and make baskets out of Dixie cups and pipe cleaners. For some unexplainable reason, it was important to melt snow for water in the baskets ... there was always some snow around on May 1st. Before school, we would traipse up and down Priday Avenue and hang a basket of flowers on neighbors' doors. We repeated this ritual for three more years.

It is no secret that times have changed. One of our memories is of me, in first grade, walking Louise to her first day of kindergarten. Alone! It was not too far, but still, what were our parents thinking!?

When I was 9, my family moved to "the country," so our times together became less frequent. Louise would come to visit for the day, and we would swim in our community lake. I was not aware that she was not a strong swimmer. We wandered into deep water, and Louise lost her footing. Instinctively, I reached over and grabbed her under the arm and guided her to the shallows. Of course, Louise remembers this more vividly than I. She never fails to mention that I saved her life that day.

After high school, our lives took us in different directions and distant locations. Louise married at 19 and had two boys while I was off to college in Michigan. She eventually moved to California; I married and moved every two or three years. Somehow our Christmas cards kept us connected, and the thread of our friendship survived.

Now we are both in our late 70s, and one might say that we are on the short end of the stick. Reuniting with Louise became a "bucket list" priority. Since I had planned to go to Colorado for my grandson's graduation in May, it seemed a good time to visit Louise. She met me at the airport in Reno, and we traveled two hours to her home at Lake Almanor in northern California. While there is still much evidence of the Dixie Fire two years ago, it is still a spectacular part of the country ... mountains, woods, and lakes!

While it was tempting to plan various events for the two of us, we opted to just visit out on the deck with a glass of wine. This we did for two days! We relived our time together and caught up on the time in between. Louise bought us beautiful matching bracelets to commemorate our reunion. We agreed to wear them every day in hopes that we would see each other yet again. Best friends FOREVER!