History of the World Part I

Your curiosity can be satisfied! We are back with the customary yet much needed introductory post. We decided the best way for you to get to know us is to each share our version of the story…

A quick about me, my name is Mary. I graduated from college with a degree in English in 2008. I am currently back in school to become an elementary school teacher. I have been married to my extremely awesome husband for almost 4 years and our only child is our fluffy white dog named Lola.

Christine and I had 2 classes together as well as a few mutual friends so we had hung out socially, but we were definitely only acquaintance status when we decided to pair up for a project for our Spanish class. It was an oral conversation project. As Spanish was not our strong suit the work was tedious and frustrating and repetitive. Over and over and over again Christine asked me how to say “today” in Spanish. Over and over and over again I told her, “hoy.” My patience was wearing thin. Finally, I reached my tipping point and retorted, “HOY! H-O-Y!!!” She meekly responded, “thank you.” There was a moment of silence where the friendship could have been over before it started. Luckily, Christine is made of tougher stuff than that and we persevered to make an A on the conversation and it was a turning point in our relationship. Anyone that you can semi-yell at and they still want to be around you is probably someone you are not going to ditch easily.

From that point on we were close to a package deal. We were both members of a Catholic women’s group, both English majors with classes together and we lived in the same dorm. When we ended up with rooms across the hall from each other things got a little ridiculous. Because Christine was a Resident Assistant she would literally get the spare key to my room and let herself in to use my computer. We would open both our doors to approve each other’s outfits. I was almost as familiar with her closet as my own. Road trips and adventures soon followed. We survived jerk-face guys and friends who turned out not to be so great, bad grades and bad hangovers, graduation and marriage.

Christine is the one who really came up with the concept of a friendaversary. Our friendship has been such constant in our lives. I’ve “been with” Christine longer than my husband. Isn’t that a feat that somehow deserves recognition? There isn’t a day when you show appreciation for the people who have helped you through your lows and celebrated your highs. So we made up one. I’m not sure exactly when we first started celebrating friendaversaries. But we would go to the La Michoacana and have a torta. Then we would buy our own gift instead of exchanging because the joy of shopping was the gift. Since then it has become a tradition. We have had dinner dates; last year we went to the opera. We try to make the day we choose to celebrate special. My husband understands that; he shares me with my friends. Our running joke is that Christine and I go on more romantic dates than he and I do.

I think the reason our friendship has endured after we graduated is because we make it a priority. There are plenty of people that I adored that I have lost touch with but Christine and I, and a few of our other friends, put in the extra effort to see each other regularly. We share in each other’s lives, in the big and small things and that’s what keeps us close. I know that Christine and I’s friendship is going to endure because we both want it to.