Best Friend Soul Mates

I haven’t written in a good long while. Y’all, the past few months have had so many ups and downs, I’ve been lucky to even remember what day it was. But more on that in another post. I am working up a post on homeschooling coming soon, and I know I never finished mine and Kevin’s story.

This post is completely off topic for what is typical on this blog, but it’s as much a personal blog as an educational one. Call it a lifestyle post.

I started this post in my head a few weeks ago, and never wrote it. But I feel like now is a time *she* needs to hear this.

By the title of the post, you can probably already guess what this post is about. Or maybe you thought it would be a romantic post. Surprise! Fair warning, there will be a bit of bragging, because I seriously hit the best friend jackpot.

I’d heard of soulmates for romantic relationships, but I didn’t know that friendships had them too. And if you’d even told me when I met her that we would one day be this close, I probably would’ve laughed. But for all the good friends I’ve been blessed with in life, none are quite like her.

Have you ever had that friend that instinctively knew when you needed sincerity, sarcasm, support or tough love, sometimes even a combination of the 4? That friend that will literally drop everything when you have an emergency, no matter how far they have to go to help? That friend that knows when you need space and when you need to be pushed? That friend that loves your children as her own even when they’re incredibly difficult? That friend that makes you a better mom just because she’s so fabulous at it?

We met close to 10 years ago, and the first night I met her, I thought for sure she was crazy after hearing the stories of her then husband. (We’ve all had that one ex, right?) And yet, I wondered what magic she possessed to be able to whisper at her 5 year old child and get a response. If you know anything about my oldest (who was my only back then), his brain is usually going in so many directions that full volume is all he hears. I figured she must possess some voodoo magic.

For several years we stayed in touch mostly through Facebook. We got a little closer as years went by, and she almost was nanny to my daughter when she was born, until I decided to stay home. But we still weren’t super close.

And then a tragedy hit my marriage. The only person I knew that could understand was her, because she had been through something almost exact. I messaged her and she immediately jumped to help me. She was there for the whole ordeal, and never judged either way.

Since then we’ve bonded over many a stupid and serious thing. We’ve seen life’s ups and downs together. There have even been accusations of us sharing marriage partners, and that became a HUGE joke between us and my husband.

But y’all, this girl doesn’t know how special she is. Her heart is so big and overflowing with kindness. I once rode with her two hours from home to pick up a car she wanted to buy and they sold it 5 minutes before she arrived. She still showed kindness and respect and never lost her cool...not even after they promised her a gas card for the trouble, and didn’t produce it.

Just recently her neighbors ran over her 15 year old dog. I’ve been watching her handle this with the grace she carries through every situation. She TOLD THEM IT WAS OK until they started laughing at her dog... a dog she had since it was a puppy and that she was hoping would live to turn 16 in a few months. A dog she ended up taking to put to sleep because of its suffering. She lost her cool at this point, and did yell, but I have no doubt the words she chose were not the expletives that most of us would choose. I got a text jokingly asking if I’d come help slash tires. In the end, she only ended up calling and asking for a patrol to come watch the stop sign TO KEEP EVERYONE ELSE SAFE.

During her own heartbreaking tragedy, she’s taking care of everyone else- still.

She is amazingly talented, creative, adaptive, and smart. The things she does with a camera or a sewing machine never cease to amaze me.

And yet, most days, I get the feeling she feels unseen. She’s been let down by people so many times that she has very low expectations. She purposely tries to tell the parts of her personal story to scare people away when she meets them, so she won’t have to deal with more heartbreak.

But she is seen. I’m sure more people than will ever admit it admire her and watch her. Her ability to unwaveringly weather every storm with kindness leaves most people in awe. And the amazing little humans she rears to be kind souls just like her are even more a testament to her character.

I hit the best friend jackpot, and I have no doubt my best friend is better than yours.

Do you have a best friend soul mate?