Twenty-eight years ago, boy that sounds like I’m getting old 🙂 I met her. I was 18 years old and I moved out to live on my own. Maybe I wasn’t completely ready for that, but that was long ago. A small apartment, two floors, kind of cute as I look back.
The first days I found it very hard to live in the apartment, with all the boxes I had to unpack. One afternoon the worst thing I could imagine as an eighteen year old happened. I locked myself out of my home. I panicked. I had only seen her once, as I looked down from the balcony right into her backyard. She waved and called “Hello new neighbour”. I ran to the neighbours and panicked about locking myself out. Her son got a big ladder and climbed on my balcony and thank goodness the doors were open. He opened the door for me. That was our first real contact. They teased me with this for years.
Our friendship started that day and it became closer. I spent a lot of time with her. She learned me how to cook, I had never shown a lot of interest in it (I admit it still isn’t one of my qualities). Mashed potatoes, roasting meat, she showed me the ropes. Beside the age difference (30 years) we got along great. She was my save haven, as I still had some difficulties adjusting to living on my own. Of course I had my own family, but with her I could talk about anything. Every time I got my heart broken, applied for jobs, family trouble.. she listened. She never judged, but she gave me a piece of her mind, she was honest to me.
Ten years.. we lived next to each other. She saw me fall in love with the father of my child, she was there the morning of my wedding day, she was there in hospital just after I became a mother. I saw her daughter become a teenager, moving out, heard all her sorrows and never judged. Until the day we both moved away. Shortly after each other we moved to another town. Luckily not to far away. She kept in touch, called me regularly, but it was not the same.
My friend, throughout my life.. She’s 76 today and sometimes she still dances on the street like a little girl. I have never seen such a lively person at the age of 76. Maybe that’s because she’s such a positive person. She’s been part of my life, 28 years and I hope she will be in it for a long time. .
