My Childhood Friend Janet

One day when I was about 5 or 6 a little girl came to our door delivering something for her mother.  I was sitting at the kitchen table (I can remember this like it was yesterday) separating the marshmallows from the cereal from a box of Lucky Charms.  I remember this because I was embarrassed that I was doing it and tried to hide it.  She asked if I could come out to play and well that was the beginning of a life long friendship.  Sadly I don't have any pictures of us when we were little.  I think these photo booth shots are the youngest that I have and they are from our Jr. High days.

                                                                                     Janet                             1968                            Kim

Looking back it seems like we were together more than not.  We spent the night at each other houses, we wrote letters, we talked on the phone.  I remember when we would hear our favorite song on the radio we would quickly call each other on the phone to let the other know it was playing.  She was good in school and I struggled.  I was more athletic.  I remember when she would write me letters she would ask me to let her win once in a while when we played tether ball.  We used to get together after school and we would make cookies, rice crispy treats, suckers, scones or just eat ice cream.  We used to love to get together and play the guitar and sing.  We loved having our little brothers John and Todd join it.  We were always tape recording ourselves singing and we thought we really rocked.  Listening to those tapes now....... we definitely did not rock.... but we had fun.  I remember the laughing.  Janet would come camping with my family and I used to go to the river with her family.  Someone once called us salt and pepper I guess because we were always together.

             

   
Here is a shot of Janet and Mom eating some of our homemade suckers.

                                                                                                         Camping

                                                                                                               The River

After high school we went off to Ricks college together.  The Best Two Years.  We had some good times there.  We added a new best friend to our duo and became a trio.

                                                                                                         Janet               Tammy                 Kim

Just a couple of weeks ago Janet and I took a road trip up to Manteca, CA to spend a few days with Tammy.   Together again after 16 years.  The last time the three of us got together was in 1993.  It was like no time had passed.  It was the same but different..... we are older.  We were not the silly teenagers we were when we went to college together.   We spent the our time together mostly talking.  We spent a day driving around San Francisco and we went to see "Wicked" at the Orpheum Theater.  Such a fun few days.  

I am so grateful that I was able to have a close friend while growing up.  Through the years we did have our ups and downs but for the most part we were always there for each other, always a good influence in each others lives.  I remember a time when I was so down that I just couldn't even get myself out of bed.  Janet was there to get me up and moving and going.  And a time when her heart was broken and I was there with her.  We always said that we would live close together all our lives.... well that didn't happen but we have stayed in contact.  We were really like sisters..... and when our parents ended up married we became sisters.  Well, it was really my mom and her father-in-law but that's close enough.  Thanks Janet for being my best friend forever.