Brag on the Childhood BFF

I just want to brag on myself and a friend I grew up with who is not on this blog (yet).  Her name is Jess.  

First the history:

Jess and I met in the 3rd grade and became best friends...this was before they called them bff's.  We stayed friends all through elementary, middle, and high school despite the fact that we did not even hang out in the same social circles.

Something neither of us have ever forgotten was in the 4th grade.  We were at a school fair and we went in to the "fortune teller" room for fun together.  The fortune teller (who I swear was our teacher) told us that we would both drop out of school and have babies by the time we were 19.  We didn't tell our parents about it but we talked about it often.  Neither of us wanted that to come true and as we grew it became a joke whenever something bad happened (yes, her sense of humor is as bad as mine).


During the summer before 6th grade her family got a pool.  On their first day using it her dad (really her grandfather but since her gf and gma raised her I refer to them as her mom and dad) slipped and fell in and broke his neck, paralizing him from the neck down.  This was devestating.  She missed a lot of school from that point on to help take care of him with her mom.

So we both graduated from high school...on time...with no babies.  I went to college and she decided to take a break.  We kept in touch when I came home from college and through the phone (this was before email was very common and yes, I am that old).  At the end of my sophomore year (1999) year I get a call from her asking if I was going to be in that weekend and if I still had my prom dress.  She was getting married and wanted me in it.  We had the wedding (me BARELY fitting into that dress) with her paralyzed father in attendance.  We actually coordinated the wedding for him...at their house with him having the best seat.  It was a nice wedding. 


That fall (Halloween to be exact) I get a call from her that her dad passed away.  That felt like my own father died.  I haven't gone into details but I spent so many hours up at St. Elizabeth ICU with Jess and her mom for her dad.  I went up for the visitation in the evening and drove back immediately after for a presentation the next morning.  


May 2000- I get married and Jess is my matron of honor.  


From that point on we talked occasionally but not all that much.  She and her husband hung out in different social circles, some that I did not feel comfortable or safe in.  After a few years our contact was down to just a few times a year.  Even after I moved to Cincinnati, we only talked sporadically.  The only reason I knew how to contact her is she lived in the house she grew up in and the phone number never changed.  


Summer 2008...I get a call from Jess.  A mutual friend (my 8th grade boyfriend) died unexpectedly.  It was hitting her very hard.  She and her husband came to visit us.  This was the first time they would meet my son Brandon, who of course was not shy and crawled all over them.  Jess was a wreck...first her friend and she also told me her mom has cancer in her brain and they don't know how long she is going to live.  We kept in touch much more often after that (gotta love the invention of the cell phone).  


September 2009.  I am weeks from delivering my second child and I get a frantic call from Jess's husband.  Jess's mom is on her deathbed and she is a wreck.  I spent the next 2 days with her and her mom and then at the funeral a few days later.

So a few weeks ago I get a text from Jess (yay, we are finally to texting!) and she tells me she is pregnant!  I immediately want to meet up with her.  We now talk somewhat regularly.  I am getting the mommy urges with her knowing that she has no mom or dad to help her through this and I've done it twice now.  So far everything is going great with the pregnancy and she is due October 14.


My brag in all this is this.  We were told we would both be single moms at 19 and be drop outs.  I was 28 when I had my first child and she is 31...we are both married and have been for years.  We both have graduated from college (she is an LPN and I have a MA) and have decent jobs.  On top of that, Jess gave up smoking cold turkey the moment the pregnancy test showed positive.  I am proud of us!