Meet My Best Friend

Throughout our lives, we tend to have friends who come and go. We even find ourselves often with best friends during a season of our lives. We may find work best friends, or we may have school best friends. When we are in relationships, our romantic partners become our best friends also, and for different reasons. In fact, my own husband is my best friend in so many ways. But when we are truly lucky, we can have that one true constant who remains a best friend through all the seasons of our lives. I am fortunate enough to have such a friend.
My best friend is stunningly beautiful, and that is the cause for many a person to want to meet her. However, when anyone gets to know her, it is her inner beauty that shines the brightest and then they naturally want to keep her in their lives as well. She has a charm and wit about her that is truly a rare treat.
Of all the people who have grown to love her, I am most lucky to have had her by my side for her entire life. Because, you see, it is my beautiful daughter who is my best friend. She can be, at times, both complicated and frustrating. Perhaps, it is the mother in me that can see that part of her, because as well as laughing and sharing with her, I have also had the unique role of disciplining and guiding her along the path of life.
Total strangers have had the opportunity to meet her, and within minutes, feel as though their meeting was not merely by chance. She has the ability to make anyone believe that she had been sent to their life in the right moment by some higher power. She will listen intently to others as they pour out their problems to her. She will cry tears of joy and tears of sorrow alongside anyone in her presence.
Her and I have laughed at others, and at each other. We have also cried over boys together. We have cursed others and threatened outlandish acts of revenge on anyone who has hurt the other. We have been furious at and deeply hurt by each other, but at the core of every day, we love each other unconditionally. That love, and the bond of mother and daughter, always prevail no matter what temporary emotions that we allow to pervade our minds.
In the past year, she has decided to grow up and move out on her own. At times, with her boyfriend, and at times, by herself. For various reasons, that did not always work out for her. And she was crushed by how unfairly life had treated her. She is one of the most loving and caring and deserving people I know, and I too, was crushed every time life has pulled the rug out from underneath her. She made the decision to move back home with me a few months ago. She was not just my little girl who was broken and sad, she was my best friend, and my heart poured as freely as my tears at night to see life not giving her all she deserves. Over the past few months with her being home, we have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. It has helped that I currently work from home and am around when she if there before or after work, or on her days off. We have lunch together, and we spend just a few minutes a day just chatting over love, life, and all things girl.
Now, we find ourselves once again at an impasse. For several months, my husband and I have been making preparations and saving money to make the move to Florida to be close to my son and granddaughters. And for much of that time, she has been also making plans to join us. However, as the time grew near to make the move, she has made the tough decision to stay behind in Georgia. She has a job that she does not wish to leave at this time, in hopes of promoting up and advancing with the company. I could never fault her for that, it is always good to stick with something. Far too many people these days are flakey. She has never really dealt easily with change. She lost her dad when she was only three years old, then lost her grandfather, whom she was very close too, at an early age as well, and lost homes to natural disasters. For most of her life, she has had to deal with some pretty radical life changes, without any warning. So, it makes perfect sense that she would need and desire a sense of constant in her life and possess a need to feel a sense of control over some of her own decisions. Being that my husband and I had made the decision to move to Florida just prior to her coming back home to live with us, the choice to move there was never hers, it was simply that all her family had moved, and she felt that it was her only option.
Our days now are a mixed bag of emotions. She is excited about the potential prospects that she has had open up with her job, and I am excited about the opportunity to explore new destinations in a new state and to be spending time with the girls. However, looming over us is a constant sadness. It is hard for me to think about leaving my best friend behind, and it is equally difficult for her to be feeling like she is being left behind. Additionally, as her mother also, I have this sense of heaviness about this situation, in that I want her to succeed and do well in her job and achieve all of the amazing things I know she is capable of, yet as her mother, I worry over her being on her own. I want her to be safe, and fed, and when she is sick, I want her to cuddle on the couch in a warm fuzzy blanket while I make her soup and bring her medicine. I know she is a strong and independent young lady, but she has also had a lot of harsh experiences with life knocking the wind out of her sails, and because she is both my daughter and my best friend, I have an ingrained need to be there to wipe the tears and help pick up the pieces.
So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, my best friend is amazing, and anyone would be lucky to meet her. Everyone who knows her will attest to the fact that just knowing her will make your life a better place and leave you a better person. I look forward to seeing all of the incredible things that she accomplishes in her future, because I know she is meant for great things, and will, no doubt, live up to the hype.