To my Childhood Best Friend,

Where do I start? We met in kindergarten. My class was across the hall from yours and our teachers always brought our classes in side by side. One day I was walking into school with you. I had my glittery jeans on that I left a trail of glitter with each step I took and my favorite shirt from Limited Too. Those were the only jeans I would wear. You told me you hated jeans but loved the ones I was wearing. I said "thank you" and I told you I liked your backpack. That was the start of our friendship.

I walked out of school that day next to you and we told our moms that we were friends. Yeah, we knew each other for less than a day and decided to be friends. It's funny how easily our friendship formed. Each day after we would walk out of school together and greet our moms who stood there waiting for us. My mom would be grasping onto my little brother's hand while rocking my baby sister to sleep in the stroller as she talked to your mom. They talked about their husbands, how busy being a mom is and of course, us. They knew we had been waiting for a play date and felt it was about time we had one.

You came over on a fall day. It was a sunny and the leaves were changing color, it was cool out but not too cool for sweaters. Your mom pulled up in her big Chevrolet Suburban, the same one mine had. My mom's was silver and your mom's navy blue. You were itching to get out of your car seat because you were so excited we got to play outside of school. I turned to my mom juggling my two siblings and said " Mommy, she is just like me. We have the same car, and we look alike. We even like the same things". Our mom's let us build a ramp with my Dad's wooden planks he usually kept in the backyard so we could drive my little brother's John Deer tractor down the front steps of my walkway. we put my brother in the back when our moms weren't looking and drove down the stairs. We would've gotten away with that if we shut the back of it but Joe fell out. We caused enough trouble outside in the yard so we went inside to decorate pumpkins with paint and glitter which would soon cover my kitchen.

The play dates continued as we grew. We sat on Santa's lap together which made the town paper. We thought we were famous. That newspaper clipping still hangs in your Dad's office at his store.

As we grew, so did our friendship. We had some of the same elementary teachers and survived middle school together. Our friendship became stronger in high school. High school is easy for no one. In our small town it was important to keep our friends close. You became my biggest supporter. You didn't do cheerleading or anything like I did which normally would cause friends to drift but thankfully, we didn't.

We had the typical boy drama to weep to each other over, went to the same parties and hung out more than ever. I started to struggle a bit but you didn't stop supporting me. My anxiety, depression and toxic relationships took control of my life for a while. You however, always did your best being there for me despite what you had on your plate. You stayed up late texting me telling me it would all be okay. You would come over when I missed a day of school because I felt "sick" or was too anxious to get out of bed. I always could count on you filling me in. Sometimes my anxiety or depression would ruin my Friday and Saturday nights so you sacrificed yours to stay with me and make sure I was okay. We went for drives to the lighthouse and just around the area so i could cool down, grabbed ice cream because well...ice cream fixes everything, and watched the same movies we had seen a dozen times.

Now, we have graduated high school and gotten into the world. You're going to school at home and I'm up at the University of New Hampshire. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss having you a mile away.

You never asked for anything in return for all the support and love you gave me. For that best friend, I thank you. I thank you for all the memories we have shared, and the ones to come. I thank you for the things you gave up to help me. I thank you for making your family mine, and for being the fourth sibling in my house. I thank you for the vacations you have joined us on, and the days you have spent with us. I thank you for all those tweets I open when i get out of class that you sent me saying "This is so you: and "This is us". I thank you for getting me when I don't get myself. I thank you for the weird texts I wake up to. I thank you for letting me drag you to these coffee shops I find but won't go to alone. I thank you for the little things, the big things and everything in between. Most importantly, thank you for being you. You are the best friend I could ask for. Your silly questions (that I will always laugh at), stubborn behavior, crazy antics and incredible personality are what I love about your weird self. You deserve the best.

I have had so much fun growing up with you and can't wait for us to continue that. I can't wait for us to stand by each other at the alter on our wedding days or to force our kids to be best friends and for my kids to call you Auntie. I can't wait for us to cause chaos in the nursing home (because why would we ever live in separate ones).

I'm so happy we met in Kindergarten at the ECC and thankful we are better at getting away with our dumb ideas. I am never letting go of you (sorry you're stuck with me ). Here is to you, here is to our friendship and to whatever life throws our way. I'm thankful for you.