The day that changed my life. No, seriously.

Did I ever tell you about the first day I met Faythe? We met a long time ago on my first day of sixth grade. See, my early years were spent moving around from town to town in Oregon and Texas when finally, one day Mom, Aimee and I moved in with our Grandparents in Deadwood,* Oregon. We traveled some 25 miles away to Mapleton to go to the same schools most of our relatives had gone to and sadly (or happily, you decide) were taught by the same people my aunts, uncles and cousins were taught by. To be honest, the only thing I remember on my first day of school is my encounter with the only other non-Caucasian kid in my class (and possibly the entire school), a skinny girl with long curly brown hair.

It was recess time and I was sitting on a swing minding my own business when Faythe walked over to check me out. Conversation was slow and shy but eventually we got down to the business of being best friends. It wasn't long until we were kicking Crayon colored rocks water-proofed with Scotch tape around the field during recess. Oh, yes we were definitely suited for each other. We also spent time inventing our own language (of which I only remember one word), learning to juggle and laughing hysterically while people stared at us in disbelief and/or annoyance. I can still hear our loud laughter echoing in the bathrooms as we laughed at...well, nothing. I believe there was even a time or two where we were separated in the classroom and forced to sit as far from each other as possible.

Well, as time has proven, no distance can keep us from being friends and from occupying ourselves with our own forms of entertainment (one of which may or may not include hoarding yarn for our retirement years). And even though we're separated by thousands of miles, we still laughing uncontrollably, causing people to stare at us while we type loudly to each other online. I think it's safe to say we'll always be best friends.

So here's to you Faythe, "Oy!" Thanks for making my life a more interesting one! Even if your heart is supposedly black. :)

Happy Birthday!





*I wanted to point out that the Spotlight section in both the Deadwood and Mapleton links are suspiciously missing. Unless you have lived there.