Happy Birthday, Patty!

This is a picture of me and my friend, Patty, last Thanksgiving. I'm wearing a scarf I made a couple of years ago (a modified, really long ski scarf) and she's wearing a scarf that I had just given her, the Best Friend Scarf. There was supposed to be another picture with Fred wearing his scarf that I made for him, but he deleted it. Yes, I'm holding a child in this picture. Patty's youngest.

Anyway, today is Patty's 43rd birthday. (Oh. And it's also the birthday of her fraternal twin, Pam. Hi, Pam.) Patty and I dated in high school during our senior year. It was a great time. Lots of details I won't bore you with (we bore each other with it enough.) Suffice it to say that she was into academics and making good grades and I was into...finding a way to manage all of my social activities so that my academics didn't get in the way.

We've managed to remain close over the past 25 years. We had a little break, but I think we've been in pretty steady contact for the rest. She's got a great husband and three wonderful kids, and a loving extended family. People have referred to her as my best friend, but that never quite hits it for me. It feels like much more than that. I want to say she's the Grace to my Will, but to compare us to two sitcom characters (even though there are some similarities) sort of cheapens it. She's just the best person I could have been paired up with to be life-long friends. I feel incredibly lucky that she's been around for so long and that she will be for the duration.

Patty is the sort of person I wish every one could have in their life. Always there. No judgment. Good memory (except for my birthday). Genuinely funny. And full of love. I feel like I hit the jackpot when I met her.

And she'll always be six months older than me. What's not to love about that?