Happy Birthday, Superman

Fair Warning. This is a "boy" post.

But this boy...

around the time when he and I first started becoming really good friends at Tabitha Cox's 14th bday party in 8th grade. It was his first boy/girl party.

who turned into this boy...

studly Prom date- 2010

is my Best friend. And not in the "we're dating and spend every second together and so now I refer to him as my best friend because I don't spend any time with my female best friend any more" kind of way. No, that just annoys me. We're legitimately best friends in the "we've known each other for 8 years and been through it all together" kind of way. And he's leaving tomorrow. So he gets his own post. Special.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.

 Cheesy? Maybe. But so is he.

I guess we all have someone in our lives like that. I like to think mine's special, and he is, but I suppose we all can relate to one extent or another.

2 years. Some think that's an impossibly long time. and sometimes, it feels that way. He's been my constant Best friend since we were fourteen years old crazy dancing on the lunch tables in the rain. But hey, that's over 4 years behind me. and 4 years is twice as long as 2 years.

Not many people can claim to have been through all that we have together:

7th grade A-hour, science and reading
National Academic League
Seminary (freshman and senior year)
ELP and AA classes
Youth Conferences
special musical numbers together
musicals (and late nights building sets)
Drivers Ed...and that ridiculous purple PT cruiser and the jeep who's brakes only worked for him
boy/girl drama
Austria
additional siblings
pioneer trek
my first (his second) date the day I turned 16
friend troubles

mortal combat/light saber battles
midnight movies
parent frustrations
first and last high school dances together
lunch parties
San Francisco

a full week of unintentional matching (it was freaky)
sacred temple experiences
reading names for seminary graduation

college
randomly slow-dancing in a parking lot or courtyard or field
last-Sunday-of-the-month meetings
long walks
all the talks and tears and hard things we've watched and helped each other go through

Some of our adventures...click to see bigger

...just to name a few.

I've known it was coming. He's been going on and on about it for as long as I can remember. And that's how it should be. And now that it's finally here, I'm so happy and excited for him.

It's just hard when your adventure buddy disappears, the one who's been there through it all, who catches all the subtle sarcasm and facial expressions, the one who articulates your thoughts when you don't quite know how to, who was there for a talk the second you asked, or randomly showed up at your doorstep with a bottle of Sprite stolen from a roommate when you have the flu, or slipped a bag of chocolate under your door with a note when you were having a particularly rough day.........yeah.

Because that's the kind of person he is. And he's oh so ready to serve the people of New York City. He is strong. and he will do miraculous things.

So here starts the letter writing.