As I mentioned in my last post, 25 years ago this September, I met a 15-year-old girl on a school bus.
Little did I know then what a difference she would make in my life.
We saw each other every day at the bus stop. We were both new to Newport Harbor High School; she was starting her sophomore year, and I my freshman year.
It seemed we had little in common. Like many teenagers, we were opinionated and knew we were right. Somehow through our teenage angst and antagonism, we began to spend time together and see the positives in each other.
By the end of my freshman year, we were no longer antagonistic, and when Kendra celebrated her Sweet Sixteen, I spent the day with her. I still remember the two of us giving one of our friends a complete makeover that day.
So many memories over the years . . . trips to the Balboa Fun Zone,
to Knott's Berry Farm,
her 17th birthday, with us attempting to make a flag to fly (the 17 was lopsided, and we couldn't figure out what to fly it from) at the fire pit in Huntington Beach. Her graduation from Newport Harbor High the following year. What would we do, separated, no longer in school together? That separation seemed like nothing the following year, when I graduated and decided to go to Berkeley for college.
400 miles away???!! It seemed like a million. But, instead those four years flew by, and Kendi made many road trips to visit,
as did I back home to Newport Beach. Kendi was there when I graduated from Cal and helped me pack my life up, taking much of it back home in her car.
We have been through so much together. Milestone birthdays, first boyfriends, proms, graduations from high school and college, my wedding day,
the losses of too many family members, the birth of both of my sons,
She is another sister to me, another daughter to my mother,
and now, we have reached one more milestone.
This last week, Kendra turned 40.
It is unbelievable to me that this girl I met 25 years ago, is now a grown woman. Forty??!! My mother wasn't even 40 when I met Kendra.
What would my life have been without Kendra? I don't even want to imagine. As I review the memories that are my life, she plays through the big ones and the small ones over and over again. Would I have met my husband if it weren't for her? Unlikely. Would I be the same person I am today if I hadn't met her? Again, unlikely. Through the good and the bad, the sad, the happy and the absolutely silly (who else would have chased me down the street to have Vanilla Wafer and frosting fights?), she has been a part of the tapestry of my entire life.
Even today, I often talk to her more than once a day. Where were text messages when we needed them in high school?
A chance meeting on a school bus 25 years ago has led to a lifetime of memories, smiles and tears.
So, as Kendi turns 40 and I reflect on the 25 years of friendship with which she has gifted me, all I can say is thank you for always being there whether I need a laugh, a hug or a good cry. I look forward to the next 50 and expect that she will be where she always has been, no more than a call away.
What about you? What memories do you have of a special friend who has been a part of you forever?
I am a lifetime local resident of coastal Orange County. My knowledge of the area, combined with a strong background in mortgages, real estate and being an attorney, give my client many advantages.
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That is a nice and unique post. It is good to have stories on AR.
Anthony - Thanks I enjoyed writing it and the trip down memory road.
Christine, Grand Slam!!!!!!!!!! You probably didn't realize that bus ride would be the beginning of the ride of your life with such a wonderful person. Kudos to each of you for finding each other that day and sticking together as friends should do, but rarely do as we grow into our new hustle and bustle lives. What an awesome ThemThem to Kendra!
Kendra, Happy Belated Birthday.
Featured Post in the ThemThem Group.
Have a great day in The Rain,
Duane
You may want to add a link on your previous Marketing 101 post back to this post, LOL.
Christine - what a great post! How nice it must be to have a almost life time friend. Here's to your next 25 years!
Christine - what a great post! How nice it must be to have a almost life time friend. Here's to your next 25 years!
Awww the memories
Duane - Thanks so much. I had no idea what that bus ride would mean, but it was a defining point for me.
Thank you for featuring this. I'll pass your birthday wishes on to Kendi.
Mary - It really is a wonderful thing.
Jeff - they are great memories : )
Christine, What a story. For me, there isn't a single person college that I kept in touch with. I have about 7 friends from junior high and high school that I still talk with and hang out with from time to time. To know these people since I was 12 is well over half my life. One, I've known since I was 8 years old and I helped her sell and buy a new home last year. Old friends are great, and even though we're all completely different people with completely different adult attitudes, we're all still friends, most of the time.
Donna - I feel so fortunate in my friendships. It is great to have people who have known you forever. I think part of being old friends is being able to have different attitudes.
Christine, you are welcome, great job!
Christine, What a great story-and very well written. I just talked today on the phone to a friend that I met 34 years ago when we were 7. My family bought her families home. I remember going to see the house, but instead of looking at the house, we played the whole time. When my family actually moved in, I had no idea what the house was like. Her family built a house in the next field over and we have remained friends since then. We only talk every couple of months, but it's easy to pick up where we left off. She just told me today that her oldest daughter is expecting and that she will be a grandma! Wow that makes me feel old!
Christine, This post was worth the wait! Not sure if I would have read it without the "suspense". Congratulations to you both on a beautiful friendship. Now what did Kendra say when she read this? How about a response from her reflecting back 25 years?
Pam - Congratulations to your friend on becoming a grandma. It sounds like you too built a tremendous, long last friendship. Regarding feeling old, my grandma always told me you're only as old as you think you are, so if you remember that, you can always be young : )
Margaret - Thank you. I am so glad to hear you found it worth the wait. The fact that you might not have read it without the suspense, shows the importance of good marketing - with or without intent.
I sent a copy of this to Kendi last night when I was done, so we'll see what she says.
Christine: We never know where or when we'll meet someone that becomes a very special part of our life. Wonderful story!!
Kat - I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I was probably about the same age as you and Kendra when I met my friend Cameron who, around 15 years later, would introduce me to his cousin - and my future wife! Perhaps I owe Cameron the same debt that you owe Kendra...
Carey, you just might. It's amazing how coincidences come together or perhaps fate . . .
Hi Christine,
What a great post, and great tribute to your friend Kendra. I’m willing to bet that she would have the same feelings and touching things to say about you.
Being someone else who graduated from Newport Harbor, reading your post got my memory wheels turning too.
: )
Michael - I'm waiting for Kendi to read this post and get back to me on it. It's been birthday celebration all week, so hopefully I'll hear soon.
Harbor did leave a lot of great memories - I'm glad it got you thinking : )
BTW, your virtual tours are beautiful.
Hi Christine,
Thank you for the compliment on our tours. I really appreciate that. They were a loooong time in the making, but agents are loving them.
Speaking of Newport Harbor, I couldn’t believe it when they tore down the old clock-tower last year. I haven’t been by there lately, but they’re suppose to rebuild a new one. I certainly hope so. That was such a visual icon, and it had been there since 1927 (I think).
Thanks again for the great post!
Michael - I'm not surprised it took some time to get the tours together. You should be proud of your work.
I was there the day they knocked down the bell tower. It was incredibly strange. Perhaps I'll do a blog on it with pictures. They claim the replica will be very similar. We'll see.
I'm glad you liked the post.
Great post. People come into our life and forever change our destiny don't they.
Sounds like Kendra is so entwined with your life that you are both changing each others trajectory in life for the better. Good for both of you, and happy b day to Kendra.
g
Gerald, some people really do make a huge difference in everything that happens thereafter.
For all of you who are wondering, my b-day was great! Lots of quality time with fantasticly special friends! My friend Janet surprised by by flying out here from Virginia. As for Christine, she has been my longest and best friend for 25 years. When we first met on that bus, I though she was annoying. I can't tell you at one specific moment, when that changed. The important things is that it did. We have been together through parental conflicts in our teenage years, the good boyfriends and the bad....I had more bad boyfriends. Christine was there to help me through each and every heartbreak.
I remember hours on the public bus riding to Disneyland and our trips to the liquor store for candy and cookie dough runs. At one point, during high school, we here dating best friends. Thanks to them, they sent us to a Wham concert for my birthday. Did I mention it was the 80's? From scavanger hunts throught Newport Shores, frat parties in Berkeley, bad parties in San Diego and my 40th birthday. We have always been able to rely on each other for whatever.
Life is funny! People discard the message of "It's a Wounderful Life" as soon as Christmas is over, but we really need to remember how just one person can affect the rest of our lives and make it so much better!! Whether it be one moment in time or a life long friendship, people touch our lives and forever change them. When you are as lucky as I, to have such a great friend like Christine, your life changes for the better!
Kendi - More memories than I could possibly mention in a fairly short blog post. Thanks for bringing a few more to the forefront.
Christine, What a great story. We are so lucky to have the friends we have in our lives. Somehow I don't have most of my pictures from that time in my life but I just recently got together with a bunch of friends to see George Michael at the Honda Center (see my blog) and it was the best. We were talking about how we will all soon be turning 40.
Cristal - It's amazing how fast time goes. Friends do make us so lucky. Glad you enjoyed the concert. I still remember the Wham concert like it was yesterday : )