- February 4, 2010
- 7 Comments
- Family & Friends, The Love, Trippin'
Life, Death and the Bond of Friendship
My friend, Jen… the woman who has only missed 4 of my 37 years of existence — lost her dad to his battle with ALS 2 weeks ago… Ugh.
The whole experience drove home the blessing I have in this life-long friendship…
Jen and I discovered Disneyland together…
We pretended to be ballerinas on the soccer field together…
She gave me her hairbrush cleaning job at the local hair salon my 8th grade year when she had to move to Fresno, and she came to my 8th grade graduation… And we braved the large framed glasses together too….
We were roommates in college. 2 years of… oh there is just too much… This is her in our dorm room our first year… She went with a navy/white theme – I was all pastel-crappy. $100 for Who will be the first person to spy the Caboodle? 1992, yo!
There were weddings and babies. During this span there were 10 years we never saw each other… but anytime we got to talk on the phone it was like no time had passed at all…
Finally, we were physically reunited. We braved BlogHer ’08 together… And for the first time we drank together. She introduced me to Caroline (on the left in the pic below *Hi girl – miss you!*) as “Drunk”… Jen has always been the quick witted one!
So, with the blessing of my little family at home, I stole away in my minivan and drove 800 miles to be with the friend who is more like a sister.
Here is the video of my trip there:
I would never survive solitary confinement. Never.
*sigh*
I’m not sure if I’ll write about our visit or not. There is just something about the time I was able to spend with Jen and her family… It was like going home. My parents were there too. Our families grew up together… and I’m not so sure I could ever express the depth of sadness and also the joy that was shared over the 2 short days I was there. Besides, I think I may just feel like holding that close. That’s a weird thing for a girl like me 
I suppose even I have limits.
I love you Jen. Deeply.
**********
Keep up on the ridiculous, the insightful, the always digressive…
Get Jenny On The Spot by RSS or EMAIL
Follow JOTS on Twitter, join the Facebook Fan Page and/or Networked Blogs!
7 Responses to “Life, Death and the Bond of Friendship”
Use the Form Below to Leave a Reply
Oh, Jenny. I must admit… I’ve never met you in real life, I don’t know your dear friend Jen, but this post made me cry. We can all hope to be blessed with this kind of friendship. You are amazing Jenny, without even knowing the story, I knew it the minute I saw you were heading out for a friend. I guess I actually knew it before this but it was confirmed… again. You are such an inspiration! Girl…
I can see your halo.
Friends like you make it easier for them to handle the pain
1. I think it’s amazing that you have a friend you’ve kept since childhood. That is a precious gift.
2. I also think it’s amazing that you were able to travel great distances to grieve with her, and show that we’re all in this crazy, hard, complicated thing called life.
3. And lastly, I think it’s amazing that you listed to Party in the USA and guess what? this morning on my 10 minute solo drive to work, so.did.I.
First, I have to echo the previous commenters. It’s amazing to have a connection with another person who knows everything about you and loves you unconditionally (especially because they know everything about you!). So glad you were able to make the trip to be there for your friend.
Second, I always, always love your videos. The scroll across the bottom on the box of veggies scene was like something straight out of MTV’s old Total Request Live shows!
Oh, my friend. I can honestly say you made the whole experience of saying good-bye to my dad much easier. Thank you for driving so far and so long. You have always been the sister I never had and you always will be. Miss you much, Jenny.
Jenny Jean I LOVE YOU! You are an AMAZING friend. You truly help those get through difficult times, you always have. I miss you terribly and cannot wait to see you, hug you and have a glass of wine with you.
I know you were pressed for time and completely delirious, but if I ever find out you drove from SEATTLE to SACRAMENTO without pulling off in REDDING to at least have coffee with me, I will hunt you down and kick you in the shin. Ok, so I wouldn’t really do that, but seriously, you DROVE RIGHT BY MY HOUSE. I can SEE I-5 from my driveway.
LOVE YOU!
Jenn
That was so great that you were able to go and be with your friend. I also have a friend that I consider more like a sister and she just lives across the water and that distance kills me. I couldn’t imagine living two states away from her…
I know how lucky I am just to know you and call you a buddy. Your friend Jen is uber-blessed to call you her bestie.