Jenny, Squared

I'm having minor computer issues again, this time with Blogger. Or maybe it's not Blogger. Maybe it's my crappy Internet connection. I don't know. I have email, but there seems to be a delay in getting them. I couldn't pull up Blogger all weekend. I couldn't access most of the blogs I read regularly. Which was actually okay, since it gave me time to get a little caught up.

Go here to read my Saturday post about the ALS walk and see pictures of my family.

Go here to read Sunday's post about my pride going before a fall. Surprisingly, just a figurative one, this time.

Now, on to today's topic!

When I was almost five, we moved to a tiny little town in the San Joaquin Valley called Corcoran. The most exciting thing about this move was the fact that the name of the street we lived on was the same as out last name. My grandfather told me that he had them name the street after us, since we were living there now. I seriously believed him for about a year. I was a stupid little kid.

We began the process of settling in. My mom joined the softball league and dragged my infant brother and myself to the field for practices. Now that I am a mom, I appreciate how much she must have needed the social opportunity that softball afforded, because taking an infant and a preschooler to a softball field strikes me as a wee bit insane.

It was during one of these practices that I wandered over to the playground and began amusing myself by climbing through the huge structure made of tractor tires. Ah, Corcoran, where the playgrounds are made of rubbish. All of a sudden, this tiny little girl with a snub nose, freckles and blond hair poked her head up out of tire. We introduced ourselves and marveled at the fact that we had the same name! Give me a break, we were 4 and 5.

Thus began a beautiful friendship. More than 30 years later, we are still best friends. Today is the twentieth anniversary of her 16th birthday. I missed the party she had this weekend, just as I missed her 16th birthday, because of finances, distance and other obligations. I promise to be there on the 30th anniversary of her 16th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Jenny. You are the sister that I chose, the one that I value beyond all others. Thank you for the years of friendship, for meeting me halfway between our houses, for sleepovers and Narnia and Superfriends (especially for letting me be Wonder Woman!). Thank you for three hour, long-distance phone calls, full of laughter and yelling at our respective children. Here's to you, my friend.

I was going to be all nice, and then I stumbled across these pictures and said, "Hell Yeah!"

We were so going to knock Vanna outta Wheel!

Nice to know we never outgrew the dorkitude.

Twin night? And why the hell did you let me go out with hair like that?

Happy 36th Birthday, Jenny!