Bosom Friends

Today, I finally met Ashlynn's son. Her pride and joy all bundled up in a ball of cuteness with piercing blue eyes and a contagious smile. I didn't really realize how much that moment meant to me until I sat down and looked through old pictures. Flipping through the memories that Ash and I shared from age 13 on. We've known each other for 12 years. TWELVE. And today, we were able to share new memories with our babies. 

I met Ashlynn during both of our first Speech and Debate tournaments. It was a way for home schoolers to socialize, and we weren't good at it at ALL. For some, God-ordained reason, Ashlynn decided to come sit next to me in a random hallway during a break. If you know Ashlynn, you know she's not the type to initiate something like that, but she did. 
After that moment, we were inseparable. We talked constantly, spend 3-day-weekends at each other's houses because we lived 2 hours a part(at the very least), and shared all of our ups-and-downs with one another. 

For some reason, we became part of the "cool kids" and hung out with all the boys because we could keep up with them. We were the only girls who played ultimate frisbee and were the only ones a part of the stupid inside jokes between the guys. 

We dressed punk/emo/scene/whatever our moms would let us wear at the time, and we definitely thought we were SO COOL. 

We were each other's prom date our senior year and it was probably the most fun I ever had in high school. 

Our adventures were life changing. We would just drive, take the light rail to Denver and spend the entire day there, or just do nothing and everything at the same time. We would laugh so hard it hurt. 

Then, we started getting a little older. I moved to Denver, she went to China, I got engaged, she went to Africa, I got married, she traveled to California, I went to California, she came back to Colorado and so did I. We also found out we were pregnant within a week of one another, and the phone calls were hilariously epic and filled with tears of panic. Nevertheless, we squashed the idea of distance and always picked up where we left off. 

But, as they all say, when you have kids, everything changes. Our lives have completely changed(for the better), but we are now both responsible for little human's lives. Today changed the absence that I was feeling. Today, I saw Ashlynn as a mom. Today, I laughed and shared stories of motherhood with my bosom friend from 12 years ago. As I sit here, writing this and seeing these pictures again, I am filled with happy tears and such emotion to know that I am blessed enough to have someone like her in my life. Ash, you are forever a part of my soul.