Friendship Hall of Fame: Amber

Amber is my oldest friend... scratch that... the friend that I've had the longest. I met her when I took my eighteen-month-old sister for a walk on the sidewalk outside our blue-door apartment. I was 7 or 8. That was the day that I discovered that a nice girl named Amber lived next door in #43. The rest is history.

We remained friends even after we both moved away from the apartments with the blue doors. (But, seriously, the number 44 remains a special number to me because that's where I lived when I met Amber!) There may have been lulls here and there in our early years when we didn't see each other as much, but by 6th grade our families were living within walking distance of each other again. We'd walk and meet halfway, then proceed to one or the other of our houses for a visit. When it was over, we'd walk together halfway with the intention of separating then. But, inevitably, we'd be deep in conversation and decide to walk all the way... then back to the halfway mark... than back to the house... than back to the halfway mark... You get the picture. We prolonged our times together whenever we could.

We saw each other through tough times, like the death of my infant sister and her mom's illness. We giggled over boys and I admired the rose J gave her after school one day. We dated brothers. We snuck out of the house to meet my boyfriend... and got caught by her parents! We went to youth group together. It was Amber who spilled the news of my top secret crush on a guy named Tim! We laughed together, cried together, made up silly songs, vented about parents and siblings and crushes gone wrong. It was was the kind of childhood friendship any girl would dream of.

Marriage and life have taken us in different directions and I haven't seen my dear friend for many years. We stay in touch now and then through emails and MySpace, but how much happier I would be if she was a constant part of my life again!

Amber, you are a gift and a treasure and I value you highly. I thank God for the gift of our history and our friendship. Bless you!

For past Friendship Hall of Fame recipients and details of how to nominate your special friends, click here.