Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Thursday, November 22, 2012

My Best Friend


I have a friend.
A best friend.
Or BFF, if you prefer.
She is fiercely loyal.
Supportive.
Encouraging.
Kind.
Fun.
Believes in me.
And I nearly missed out on gaining that friendship.
Let me tell you about it . . .
Many, many years ago, our family had just come through a very difficult experience.
Very difficult.
We were wounded and aching.
This woman, a single mom, called me to see if I was interested in babysitting for her.
She had two adorable little tow-headed girls.
I turned her down, with the excuse that I needed some time to heal.
I asked her to give me a year.
She was disappointed.
But understanding.
She gave me my time.
One year later, to the day, she called again.
This time, though still feeling less-than-whole, I accepted.
Reluctantly.
And her two happy little girls arrived.
Immediately, they mixed seamlessly in with my own kids.
Played the same games.
Ate the same food.
Watched the same programs.
Fought over the same toys.
Became two more members of the family.
Meanwhile, their hardworking and dependable mom gave me an insight into the life of a single parent.
Work.
Joy in her children.
And loneliness.
More and more, we invited her and her girls to spend time with our family.
We became friends.
Best friends.
That was over twenty-five years ago.
We were with her when she began to date her future husband.
Who became my Husby's best friend.
We were with them when they married.
And had two more little girls.
We are best friends still.
I often think about her request to babysit.
Given when I was feeling selfish and sorry for myself.
And how nearly I turned her down.
I might have missed this.


9 comments:

  1. When it's meant to be, it's meant to be. The universe would have found a way to get the two of you together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A song of thanksgiving and a tribute to a friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful. The Lord works in mysterious ways. ; )

    ReplyDelete
  4. A person should never turn down an opportunity to help someone. The rewards can never be counted.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely story. It's clear that you two were meant to become best friends, so close you could say family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this story from your past with the outcome for your future. Just what I needed tonight.

    What would we do without our friends. It sounds like you were placed in each other's lives at the just right moment when you needed each other the most.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a touching story! Some of my closest friends were met under unusual circumstances. I am so thankful for those opportunities!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Things happen for a reason I always say and this was meant to be. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's so incredible when we look back on such amazing friendships:)

    ReplyDelete

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