We have been friends for 12 years now and although during more than half of that we have lived far apart, you will always be my best friend.

Without you, I would have been that awkward kid sitting on the sidewalk during recess, too afraid to ask anyone to play. You have no idea how much you helped me that day when you asked me to play foursquare with you and some other friends. I’ve always had trouble asking to join things or just putting myself out there in any way. You’ve always been better at that than me, and I appreciate that about you. Then I met your family, and they accepted me like one of their own. Now, when I visit after being gone for months they all still welcome me like family, and I will always be grateful for that. It is a fantastic feeling to come into a situation that is not my usual one and be treated like I belong there. You all have added so much to my life and I thank you for that.

There have been times in the past where I have wondered if we would still be friends if I hadn’t moved; if spending way more time together would have made us realize how incompatible we are as friends. But I like to think that we would still have stayed close for this long. We are opposites in some of the best ways, and it usually works in our favor. The great things about you compliment the things about me. There are definitely things we don’t agree on, but we seem to do a great job of not letting them get between us and strain our relationship.

Thank you for trying. I know we go way too long without talking to each other and sometimes I get paranoid and wonder if our friendship is changing and becoming more distant. But then you do things like randomly send me a letter when I just happened to send you one a few days before. I like to tell myself this means we both know when it’s time to spend some time connecting with each other by more than likes on Facebook and Instagram. We seem to know when we need to have some type of communication when we’re usually super distracted or busy and otherwise wouldn’t talk much at all we find a way to update each other on our lives in just a few minutes. This means you also support my love for snail mail, which makes me even happier.

These last 12 years have been great with you in them and I can’t imagine how they would have been without you. Here’s to the next twelve, and the twelve after that. We spend most of our time apart, but I hope you know you’re never really getting rid of me. :)

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” – Elizabeth Foley

I miss you, Porridge.

Love, Potato Skin