The night before last, I received a text from my childhood friend who wanted to let me know that her mom had passed away. Of course I called her two seconds later and we talked for a few hours, the discussion began with her mother and what she went through… but then turned into reminiscing about the shenanigans that her and I got into when we were kids.
We met when we were twelve, and one of the greatest things about our friendship was how much FUN we had. In Junior High, so many girls were obsessed with being “popular” and trying so hard to fit in, but my bestie and I were very much our own people and not as concerned about what others thought of us. There were talent shows at our school, and we did comedy acts… and she said, “To be honest I don’t know if people were laughing WITH us or AT us, but who cares?! We had a blast!” I’m glad that we had that mentality at such a young age.
My childhood is littered with bad memories and inappropriate circumstances, but it’s important to remember that not every moment was bad, that I did manage to have some fun at times, and that I learned from an early age to be myself and to not try to suppress or change myself to please others. We were hilarious together and we always managed to have fun and make each other laugh, and we honestly didn’t care what anyone else thought. I’m thankful for those moments of reprieve in my childhood. I’m thankful that her and I met and became friends. I’m thankful that although we’re now in our thirties, she still knows that she can call me when she needs someone to talk to. I’m thankful that our friendship, even through there are chunks of long periods of time where we just haven’t kept in touch, still remains when we know that we need a friend. I’m glad that in the midst of her difficult time and her mother’s passing, I still managed to make her laugh.
Kell Frillman - Author 