Some of the most important moments that we have in our lives are actually moments that we share with other people. In this story we follow a woman who is about to start the next chapter of her life as a mother and wants to share it with her best friend who sadly she has not spoken to in over 20 years. She starts by telling us how they met, how they became best friends, how their friendship blossomed and ended, and gets us to the present place she is in her life. It is difficult at times to accept the wrong that we have done to other people but at some point, we realize, or at least some of us realize that apologizing and moving forward is much better than living the rest of your life without that person. A story that started when two little girls five-year-old girls after a day of rain in Chicago unexpectedly meet sitting next to each other at the neighborhood park on the swings. A sweet story about friendship and how important it is to all of us who have ever experienced it. We all hope for the happiest of endings…will she get hers?
Swing
The first time I met Amy was on the playground. I know that sounds crazy or a little bit strange but that is exactly where I was and I'll never forget that day. It was the beginning of summer and my mother promised me that we were going to go to the park. I was only five years old and for me if my mother told me that we were going to the park then by God I was going to the park. What I didn't anticipate, nor did she, was the torrential downpour that came with living in Chicago. That particular morning, I woke up, got myself dressed in my favorite shorts, my pink Lego T-shirt, and because I knew it was raining I put on my galoshes. I was ready to go! I ran into my parent’s room and jumped on their bed waking both of them up from a very deep sleep. My mother looked at me laughing and said, “Honey it’s pouring rain outside where do you think you're going?” I plopped down on the bed and reminded her that we had a date for the park that day. She puts her arms around me and tells me that we couldn't go to the park because it was raining. After a very extensive debate about the importance of not breaking promises, I lost that battle. But luckily, later on that afternoon almost time for dinner the rain stopped, the sky cleared and my mom told me that we could go to the park. I sprinted in front of her and the only thing I wanted to do was swing. My father had just taught me how to pump my legs so I could swing as high as I wanted to. But when we got there there was already a little girl on the swing. I knew we were going to be best friends because she too was also still wearing her galoshes. “Can you push me? I don't know how to do that leg thing.” So, not only did I push her but then I sat next to her and taught her how to pump her legs. She didn't really get it but she tried really hard and I knew she would eventually get it right. And that was it, that was the first day that Amy and I we're best friends.