Saturday, August 29, 2009

Dinner With A Friend

My senior picture, class of 1980
Sonjia's senior picture, class of 1980
Futue Homemakers of America Club, officers picture, can you spot us??

Sonjia, Ms Merry Christmas runner-up, she should have won!


Thursday I drove to Clinton Missouri to spend a day with a good friend. Sonjia Crawford Sapp and I met each other as babies, have "known" each other since 6th grade, and have been close friends since age 16. Our birthdays are a day apart, March 12 and March 13, we are and have been very much alike. Our history as friends goes back to when my mother and Sonjia's grandmother went to the same laundry in Conway to do the weekly washing, of course I played in the floor while my mom did her washing and Sonjia's grandmother would bring her, of course I don't remember this, but I think it is pretty neat just the same. When we were in 6th grade Sonjia and her family moved back to Conway to build a new home near her grandparents, she was in the same classroom as I was, but we really weren't "friends". In high school we were involved in a lot of the same activities and clubs like FHA and became friendly, but our real friendship began when she started working at Nickerson Farms Restaurant with me as a waitress and our teenage days of laughing, running around, chasing boys and bowling started. She would get me into trouble, but I enjoyed going, of course our trouble was pretty mild compared to today's standards, ours included racing on the wrong side of a 2-lane highway, chasing a group of boys on a twisty highway out near Joel E. Barber and going off in a ditch, but coming right out again, a very late night to Sleeper, again to chase boys, cruising around with John Stone, Mike Mulligan, Jill Deckard, lots of others for fun nights of bowling and cruising Lebanon, either in her Ford 4 door LTD or my 1966 Chevy Impala, 2-door, of course mine was cooler. Her laughter is contagious, she is caring, honest, fun, kind, beautiful, smart and funny!! We have always tried to remain friends and our connections through the years, she was my Maid of Honor at my wedding, she attempted to attend the birth of Pete, our last child, but he was stubborn and didn't arrive until after she left that night. I have called her with the births and deaths in my family and she called me for moral support in her decision to got to nursing school, after I had made it through. I must say, I consider her my best friend, besides my husband, I know I could turn to her for anything and she could turn to me, we have kept each others demons and issues close to our hearts and have encouraged each other, even when we haven't talked for months. We are both Grandmas now, I am Mamaw and she is Nanny, crazy that us two young and fun girls could be grannies. I love her with all my heart and hope that as we get older, maybe we will be able to do more things together, although we will be working until we are 90 with our late career choices. What a wonderful day we had together on Thursday, hours and hours of visiting and sharing, it charges me back up for a while and makes me smile to think of her, I'm so glad we have remained good friends through out the years and can't wait for the years ahead. Thanks for being such a great friend.