Two Days with a Best Friend

Isn’t that ridiculous? The mere thought of spending two itty bitty days with one’s best friend—in an entire year.

I miss her already. And want her back. My best friend and I met thirteen years ago at diabetes camp. We had a few years where we remained skeptical of the other’s charms but eventually we hit it off. One year after camp, the friendship eased into phone calls (this was pre-cell phone, so no low-key texting available) and letters. Every progressive year our friendship deepened, matured, took on more meaning and worth.

Now, my best friend knows me better than anyone else, I believe. Perhaps you scoff at the idea of best friends spending only two days a year together, but trust me—it’s not by choice. And we are amazingly close considering the distance restrictions our friendship has been under. Via text, phone calls, skype, facebook, postcards, and letters, we keep in touch. At this point it feels so natural to talk not face-to-face; as though the words I type truly are spoken and heard; as though the language of technological communication is the only true language.

But then again, we slipped right back into seeing one another in person, too, this weekend, as though we have the luxury of seeing one another daily, weekly, monthly, even biannually. And hopefully this year we’ll have that much at least, two visits rather than one.

I never would have thought a long-distance friendship could mean so much, could endure such lengthy separations, could foster such intimacy. It was so incredibly beautiful to be able to look in Jess’s eyes while she spoke. To elbow her when she slipped in a snarky comment. To hear her laughter in all its wonderful realness. To eat together, shop together, drive together, dance together.

Sometimes I step back and look at how blessed I am with my friends and family, and I attempt to see God’s hand in my life, to feel His plan and treasure His closeness. I attempt to question why He gifted me the friendships I have, and I thank Him for blessing me with people who make my life wonderful, ease my trials and pains, and expand my joys.

On the eve of returning to my beloved school, where I will reunite with so many friends, I treasure the proximity of my best friend while we are in the same state, for just a few days more. After being half the country and then half the world apart, it feels lovely to just close my eyes and picture the gap between us in all its surmountability.

We laughed as we parted. Hugged several times. Reached out our hands as the distance between us widened, knowing the feet would become miles, then thousands of miles. It seemed so ironic, the jolt out of physical closeness that we had so easily slipped into. But then again I’m still in denial mode. I cling to the illusion that I’ll be seeing her tomorrow. When I try to grasp the reality of our parting, I know that our closeness defies distance, inconvenience, long months of separation.

I’ll be seeing you soon, Jess. Until then.