good enough

i woke up this morning to find a text from an old friend of mine that lives in nashville. she used to live in rome and we were the best of friends. she only lived here for a short time but we were neighbors and inseparable during that period. a family friend of hers really wanted us to meet when she moved to rome. i think she could see the writing on the wall and knew that we would be fast friends. my soon-to-be friend lived right around the corner (ironically, in the house my mom, sister and i had lived in for a few years when i was little) but we kept missing our opportunities to meet in random social situations. finally we ran into each other one evening when i was walking and she was running. i remember so clearly how it all went down...i was pushing wil in the stroller around old east rome and came around the corner on collinwood road. i saw her running towards me and in a "jinx" kind of moment, we both said "jennifer?". immediately a friendship was forged between two jennifers. we walked and talked for so many miles around that neighborhood. we went junk shopping and decorated our homes, shopped together in atlanta, shared recipes, read in-style magazine for the of the moment things we wanted, she had her first baby, we strolled together, made regular trips to sonic for frozen limeades, lamented over hormonal skin break-outs, bought our first kate spade bags together, and dreamed of having a store together one day. i can't hear the counting crows or smell coco mademoiselle without thinking of her. you know how a scent can take you back to a certain time in your life? we shared so much in those few years and i have some of my fondest memories ever from that time of our lives. she moved away and we kept in touch. both of our lives took turns that neither of us ever imagined. another bond.

we have kept in touch but less and less over the past few years. we recently connected through facebook (hate to admit that) and she remarried this past labor day weekend. we are both so busy with the different directions of our lives but every time we do get in touch, it is like time never passed. i think that is how true friendship should be.

her text this morning brought me to tears...i had not even had a cup of coffee or shower yet. i read it and as i was getting ready for school, thought about how much that season of our lives (and the one to follow) has shaped who we are now. sometimes friendships get put on the back burner so that people can grow, change, and become who they need to be. and then those friends resurface. and time and maturity makes you even more grateful for that person.

her text read, "at sarah mclachlan at the ryman. these songs were our history. love u and thinking about our young lives we had :-)." we used to listen to her all the time. we thought the lyrics were written just for us and the things we were both trying to get a grasp on in life.

pb and i are going to the ryman for new year's this year. (so excited to see old crow medicine show with liz!) i hope that we can meet for a glass of wine and catch up on life while we are in nashville. i want her to meet pb and i want to meet her husband. so grateful for the memories we share and for the ones to come.