Old, Dear Friends

I logged onto Facebook today and was browsing away (I was looking at the new pictures posted from my coworkers of our turkey bowl today.  That deserves a post unto itself.) when the little red flag popped up that indicated a friend request.  I usually don't get too excited from those because so many students try to add me as a friend.  (Sadly but wisely I let them know we cannot be friends on Facebook...at least not until they're adults, and I am no longer their teacher!)  I clicked on the red flag, and to my shock and pleasant surprise it was my oldest and dearest childhood friend.

Now, this friend went to church with me, and oh how we used to get into trouble.  I remember once we sat behind the people from the deaf ministry, because we figured with all of motion from signing, we probably wouldn't be noticed.  We must have been in our own world, because we were doing something when we both froze at the sound of my dad's voice, the pastor in the pulpit, saying, "I know two girls who are going to be in big trouble if they don't settle down!"  I had to be careful.  It would mean front row, piano side for two weeks if I got grounded.

You know how everything is funny when you have to be quiet in church?  Yeah, we had pew-shaking laughter just about every Sunday.  Once she brought in a handful of pop rocks.  We made it through the song service, and were to the quiet part of the service, when the sweat of her hand met with the popping element of the pop rocks.  We tried hard to keep them quiet, but eventually laughter won out and the lady in front of us eventually ushered us outside.

There was also church camp.  One particularly brutal year, there was quite a bit of dunking in the pool.  At the end of camp, we all had to step up to the pulpit in church and give our testimony of what God did for us at camp.  My friend stepped up to the pulpit, paused for dramatic effect, and said, "I just thank God I didn't drown in the pool," and stepped down.  It remains a classic to this day.

I can't wait to catch up with her.  She's one of those "Pick up where we left off" friends.  This should be fun.