Old Friends

When I was eighteen I decided I wanted to be a nurse. I LOVED volunteering at the hospital when I was in high school, so, being the rational thinker that I was, I figured nursing would be just like being a candy striper, right? So then I went on to make another rational decision. I chose Clemson University because it was far enough away so that I wouldn't have to go home for church every Sunday, but close enough in case I needed to go home for anything, like money. Also, I was totally impressed by all the orange tiger paws I saw all over town. Yes, every decision I make is still, to this day, based on this same kind of rationale. Since I didn't know anyone else going to Clemson, I chose to go "potluck" on a room mate. Soon I was corresponding with the lucky girl who had been randomly assigned to me. We wrote about what colors we'd use to decorate our room, what stuff we were bringing(she was bringing a fridge), and many other important details of starting college and life away from home. It's kind of scary to leave the comforts of home, get matched with someone you know nothing about and have to live with them in a 12x12 room for who knows how long. I mean, what do you do if that person refuses to bathe or has some disgusting habit? Well, it turned out to be a wonderful match. We ended up getting along great and she didn't have any disgusting habits-at least any that were different than my own. She was messy, just like ME. She too loved chocolate chip cookie dough, she introduced me to all her cool Tiger Band friends, I loaned her my clothes, she balanced my checkbook, I made her laugh. We played pranks on our neighbors, we ate all our meals together, we road tripped to each others houses, and we made lots of friends,even these twin body builders. She always supported me- when I changed my major from nursing(too much science) to marketing, she supported me. When I changed my major from marketing(too much math) to education, she supported me. We had some great times in that tiny dorm room: ordering late night pizzas, complaining about dirty laundry, telling stories from our past, sharing our secrets, dreaming about the future and just growing up together really. We ended up rooming together for 3 years until we parted ways. Over the last 22 years we have managed to keep in touch off and on. She is now married with 3 active boys and a successful career. I'll never forget the day she called to tell me her brother had gotten killed in a train accident. I'll never forget the way she cried when I told her my dad died. Even though we don't get to talk as often as we'd like, and even though we rarely get together, and even though we live hours apart, we will always be friends. You could just call it "pot luck".