Yeah yeah.. I know it’s not Day 2. Life grabs me sometimes and I get tossed around a little. I’m still here, though 
So… The person I’ve been closest to the longest. That would be Miss V. (I wrote about her once upon a time here.) When I was a junior in high school, it was yearbook time, and mine was being passed around, collecting signatures. I lost track of it for a few periods, and then when I got it back, she’d signed it. She was kind of new to our school and I had only spoken to her a handful of times. As I was perusing the messages and signatures, I saw this:
J,
You do not know me very well yet, but you will. I do not know you very well yet, but I will. This is my one and only warning to you.
- Miss V.
It was love at first…. yearbook message. I loved that she was bold, I loved that she made me laugh.. I just loved her.
So, we became friends in the last part of our junior year of high school. Fast friends. I fell in love with her family, who took me in and treated me like one of their own. My mother had recently separated from my father (they later reconciled, 1 year later), and so I was a little lost…. her mom readily stepped up to the plate and kept me grounded. I smoked in high school…. which was a HUGE strike against me in a lot of parents’ eyes. Her father smoked, as well… and when he found out I did, it was at the dinner table. (Her little brother told on me… haha.) He said “You smoke?”
I said “Yes.”
He said “Does your father know?”
I said “Yes.”
He said “Well, alright. Join me on the balcony.”
Once, he asked me if Miss V smoked, and I truthfully told him no. He then asked if I would tell him if she did, and I truthfully told him no. heh. He was respectful of our bond.
Miss V and I have been through a lot together. She taught me to drive when I was 16 and getting my permit. I got her drunk for the first time ever. (Man, I sound like an awesome influence, don’t I?! I feel the need to point out that I was a straight A student and she copied my homework a few times. Ha!) In college, she drove to Alabama from Mississippi (AUBURN > MISSISSIPPI STATE, V!) … to spend Spring Break with me. We’ve lived apart since high school, but she’s been there for some pretty significant milestones for me..
She was the Maid of Honor when I got married… She drove into town unexpectedly when Meatball passed away. At his funeral, I looked in the back of the chapel, and there she was. She’d gotten there just in time, and her presence broke me down. I needed her. I hadn’t told her I needed her, but she knew. It meant everything to me.
She’s recently gotten married and is the proud stepmama to 3 beautiful boys. She’s so dedicated to them, and her husband. I love her little blended family.
Recently, after this blog post, she messaged me on Facebook. And we had this conversation*:
Miss V: I’m reading.. gonna have to stop for a few, the tears are just flowing. I’m so over tired, I just keep crying.
Me: heh. Yeah, I’ve spilled my share of tears today.
Miss V: So proud of her!!! That’s the you in her…. always trying to make it better for everyone else.
Me: It makes my heart happy to hear that you think of me that way, V. You have no idea. Thank you.
Miss V: You have no idea how often I think of you, or wish I was more like you. I know I have the same capacity. You really do always reach out. I want to be more like you.
Me: Shush. I have failures. PLENTY of them. You are an incredible person, and I am glad you are my friend.
Miss V: Even as a mother, there are days I want to scream at E, and I take three breaths and say “what would J do? How would she calmly approach this?”
Me: LOL. Are you kidding? I yell sometimes. I try not to, but we all do sometimes, I think.
Miss V: Sometimes I still yell, but I try to explain to him why I’m mad and why what he did was wrong. I got that from you.
Me: heh. I love you, you know that?
Miss V: I love you too!!
It’s like that. She’s amazing. I love her. If I could go back over the 16½ years we’ve known each other, I’d only change one thing: I’d meet her sooner.
*edited for grammar. You’re welcome, V. 
