For my first friends,

I’m thankful for this time that we have spent together. We were, and still are, the coolest kids in the neighborhood. I am thankful that fate lead your mom and my mom down the same path, and that they all found a friend in each other too.

I was one of the youngest in the bunch, and therefore the most delicate, but thank you for never treating me as such. The boys would always let us sisters play Four Square with them, but you never let us win. Thank you for that.

Thank you for tolerating me when I was a sassy two-year-old. You never complained when all I wanted to do was play dollhouse or dress up. When we graduated from that, thank you for being there with me as we invented new games. Together we were talk show hosts, movie directors, and architects of cities made from blocks. That was awesome.

I am thankful for every summer we spent biking to the pool, spending each moment playing and laughing until they kicked us out. Thanks for helping me put sunscreen on my back. Thanks for helping me put aloe on it when it got burned anyway.

We played a lot of Catch Phrase, until we found out that the boys were cheating. We always made really good milkshakes, we taught ourselves how to pitch a tent when we camped out in the backyard, we reinvented the game Capture the Flag, and we spent many rainy days sliding down our carpeted stairs in sleeping bags. That was really fun. Thank you.

When we got into high school, you drove me to school on my first day of freshman year. As I nervously picked at my nail polish in the backseat, you taught me the best way to drive over that huge bump as you entered the parking lot. I have never forgotten that, and I always went over that bump like a champ.

When a few of us were on the dance team together, you guys always helped me when I needed to pick up the slack. You always let me vent to you on the way home from practice. Not to mention that when you and I were partners for the pom toss, we never missed it. Ever. Thank you for always catching my pom.

When someone would grow up and graduate, we were always there to eat all of their food at their graduation party. It was never entirely sad, because we were just thankful for all of the memories we have shared. We knew that there would always be more pool days, "stay-up-late parties," and someday weddings to attend to.

Thank you for showing me that even after we grow up and start our own lives, we can still be the fun-loving kids that we once were.

Nothing's changed.