And Then the Phone Rings

I am not one for chatting on the phone.  I did go through a phase of talking on the phone when I was a teenager but that was a rite of passage.  I do confess to watching episodes of Charles in Charge while talking to my best friend on the phone.  But that was then.  Now the phone is just a means of getting a message to someone quickly.  I can usually think of something I would rather do than talking on the phone.  However, I do have one friend that I love talking to on the phone.  Yesterday afternoon, I got the chance to just sit down and listen and talk and laugh.

This particular friend moved away several years ago.  Before children, the drive wasn't a big deal and we managed to see each other every few months.  Then we had four children between us and with each new child, the time between visits would get longer as it became more difficult to work around the schedules.  We now see each other about once a year.  We also tend to go quite awhile between talking on the phone.  I sense that my aversion to the phone is mostly to blame.  Occasionally over the last couple of years, I begin to think that we may have grown apart in the true physical sense.  It happens.  I don't want it to happen but sometimes distance makes the heart forget.

And then the phone rings.

I recognize the number and answer with a familiar "Hey!"  (I love that it freaks her out every time that I answer the phone knowing it is her.)  It has been almost a year since we last talked but we pick up as if it was only last week.  Do you know the friend that just makes you laugh without trying?  That just makes you happy that you know her?  That makes you stay up way past your bedtime because you just enjoy being with her?That's her.  An hour and a half passes and we say good-bye because we have to go pick up our respective children.  (Upon arrival at the school, I am informed that I was scheduled to volunteer that afternoon.  Oops.  It's not your fault.  I just forgot to look at the schedule.  I made up for it this afternoon.)  

I could go on and on about the friendship.  I could tell you about the time we were mistaken for a lesbian couple while shopping for beads together and how we didn't realize what the guy was implying until we had gotten home and opened a bottle of wine.   I could tell you about how supportive she is.  I could tell you about her love for 80s music.  But I won't.  i will tell you that I am going to see her next week and will get to spend the whole day with her and her girls.  I am thrilled to beans.  I don't even know if that makes sense but that's how happy I am.