Today's invitation is to celebrate your best friend (or friends, if you refuse to narrow it down). For me, that label can only apply to one person. Chelsea and I have known each other since middle school, but we didn't really interact until high school (thanks to theater and choir-type activities), and we didn't really get tight until college.
Since then, we've started new relationships with toasts of sparkling cider, and we've soothed each other through the most difficult breakups possible. We've shared four apartments. She has literally held back my hair while I made sick in the toilet. We've both gotten married, about a year apart, and welcomed each other's husbands into the fold. In future years, we will most surely help one another through a few labors and cross-country moves. We'll throw anniversary parties. We'll wear funky hats together when we're old.
There are lots of things I love about Chel. For one thing, the girl ain't no gossip; she should pride herself on that. She's incredibly thoughtful and a pro at giving others the benefit of the doubt. She is the person I call with medical questions. She's honest. She's the most gifted poet that I've ever known in real life. She forgets where she puts things (which is endearing) and compensates with a passion for organization. She loves to learn. She feels genuine sorrow for her mistakes. I could go on and on about her.
But ultimately, that's just a list of reasons that it's great to be friends with Chelsea. The thing that makes her my friend is hard to define, but I think I can get close by saying, simply, that she is a soul mate. I used to think of that phrase - "soul mate" - as purely romantic, but as I get older, I think of it more in a friendship context. Chelsea is someone that I just feel connected to in the most basic way. I feel comfortable telling her anything and can feel myself growing uneasy if I've gone a few months without talking to her. Soul-wise, we really get each other. I don't know how often this kind of friendship comes along, but I sense that it's rare. I'm really grateful to have been blessed with it.
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