"...memory brushes the same years..."

I had the intense pleasure of spending an afternoon with an old friend today. You know the kind of friend that you've known for so many years you've actually lost count? Someone who knows everything about you without having to ask you awkward questions, who picks up broken conversations from the last time you spoke, following threads that you've been discussing for years. Someone who has seen you through a million bad decisions, a broken heart or two, a myriad of hair colours and a terrible pleather jacket. Someone who likes her rice krispie squares just as gooey as you do and who will always have some on hand when you come to visit. Everyone needs friends like that and I'm lucky enough to have a few.

My friend, Julie, just got married last fall, to a man who almost deserves her. He comes as close as any man can, which is a fairly phenomenal accomplishment. Julie and her husband Bryan hosted us (and all three of the boys) for a barbecue and marathon games session on their giant projector wall of video game joy in the basement. It was an amazing afternoon, not only because we played 4 person Mario kart on a split-screen where each person's quadrant was far, far bigger than our television at home, not only because I got to relax and fall back into company that I have loved for years but, best of all, because I got to watch my kids come to realize how truly funny and special my friend is. She made them laugh, she made them comfortable, she made them forget about winning or losing, she helped them to make fast friends with her puppy and she may have become my ten year old son's first crush.

On the way home, Aidan asked me how long I had known Julie. I couldn't remember the exact number of years but it was more than a decade...which is, of course, a life-time to him.

"Was she always just the way she is now?" he asked.

"Pretty much, yes."

"You're so lucky, mom. She must have been a really good friend to have."

"Yeah. She was."

She still is.