The other day I was listening to the radio when the DJ started talking about something she and her best friend experienced when out to dinner one night. They were sitting at a table, and at the table next to them were two elderly women. The foursome got to talking after the elderly women noticed this DJ’s friend’s baby at the table with them. It turned out, the elderly women were in their 80’s and had been friends their entire lives. The two women had grown up together, raised a family together, welcomed grandchildren together, and now – they were widowed together. Both of their husbands had died last year, but they still got together every week at the same restaurant because they still had each other.
If you watch Grey’s Anatomy, you’ll know that Meredith and Christina regularly refer to each other as the other’s “person”. To those elderly women, they were each other’s person.
Instantly after hearing that on the radio, I was crying (of course), and I had to text my best friend (I was at a red light, don’t worry). It was simple, but it was true: “I love you, and I am so glad you’ve been my best friend my entire life.”
at my wedding in 2010
Kimee is “my person”.
Kim and I have this amazing bond that goes as far back as pre-school Sunday School class in 1990. As far as I can remember, she has been a part of my life. Birthday parties and sleepovers were a staple in our childhood, and as we got older, inside jokes and secrets between each other became the norm. The two of us actually grew up in separate towns, so we never got to go to school together. On the weekends, when you found me, you’d more than likely find Kim. After church on Sundays, we were inseparable – the mall was our playground as long as our moms had the time to drop us off and pick us up. In the summer, we practically lived with one another. It was like we couldn’t breathe without each other. We always needed to be with one another.
As we started to grow into our teenaged years, the two of us went through it all together – first loves, first kisses, first heartbreaks. There was not a night where one of our moms would get on the house phone landline and begin to dial a phone number, only to have to tell the two of us to hang up the phone until the next day.
We, of course, went through our normal teenaged girl fights and disagreements, but there was never anything that came between the two of us for a long period of time. We always found our way back to one another.
circa 2006
Since we went to different schools our entire lives, we always grew up saying that when we “grew up" we were going to go to the same college and become roommates. Sure enough, that happened – we didn’t room together our first year at Illinois State, only because so many people warned us that it would ruin our friendship. We wised up during our sophomore year and became roommates, and added our third roommate (another one of my best friends), Sarah, to our apartment for our junior and senior year of college.
Kim and I now live about a half an hour away from each other, close enough to get dinner after work, but much too far to hang out on a regular work night (because I’m an old grandma like that). It makes me so incredibly happy that despite it all, I have a person who I can call and talk to about absolutely anything and everything – she will never judge me and always love me. She listens to me when I need to vent. She consoles me when others just don’t understand.
meeting Aubrey for the first time!!
We have been friends for 22 years (seriously!?!?!??!), and I know that someday, we will be just like those 80 year old women I previously mentioned. She’s more than a friend though – she’s family, and we always used to joke that she was the third daughter my parents never had. She gave the speech at my wedding (which I need a copy of since I don’t remember a darn word – the wine was a-flowin’ that night!).
She’s going to be my future children’s auntie who lets them do things their mother won’t let them do. She’s my life-long, “no matter what happens” friend that I absolutely could not imagine my life without. I love you, man!
Question: Do you have a “person”?
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
I definitely have girl friends who I can count on, but honestly I think my husband is my person.
PS, I think we had the same wedding dress! I have to stalk other pictures now to check!
The timing of this post is great because my mom watched our cat over the weekend while we were out of town (this is going somewhere, I promise) but he’s pretty much afraid of all people except me and my fiance. When I apologized to my mom that he didn’t come out from under the bed for her, she said, “It’s okay, he loves you. You’re his special person.” And when she said that, it totally reminded me of Grey’s Anatomy and having a “person.” Mine is my friend Sam, who I’ve been friends with for 21 years now - we met when we were 4. I was her maid of honor last year and in October at my wedding, she’ll be my maid of honor too.
I can totally see us ending up like those two women in their 80s!
I have a person too! We’ve been best friends since she moved from Pennsylvania to Florida almost 16 years ago. Our moms refer to us as sisters.
It’s truly a blessing to have a friendship like that.
My ‘person’ came to visit this weekend!
aww what a sweet and thoughtful post!
On another note, I am watching a house hunting show on HGTV right now (my first house I think it’s called) and the girl buying the house looks SO much like you! Do you have a long lost sister in Texas?! haha
haha I just turned it on to see if she in fact looks like me - I can see a resemblance, but nope - no lost long sister in Texas!
you saw the previous episode right (3-3:30), not the one on right now? there’s an older blonde lady on this episode, didn’t want you to think I meant her
aaaand we’re probably in different time zones, so 3:30 might be a little off
haha I was watching the one “right now” - but now it was like an hour ago.
this is so sweet. it brought tears to my eyes as i started thinking about rachel aka “my person”. rachel and i met my sophomore year of college in our algebra class and have just “clicked” ever since. we don’t live as close as we’d like to, but we always make a point of chatting on the phone regularly and making visits to see one another. we just always “get” each other. i love it!
I love friendships like these and it so reminds me of my friend Becca and I. We were Bible study leaders together in college and she is truly my best friend. We have a weird tendency of predicting each other major life events, calling each other at the same time etc. Loved this post!
This is so sweet!
I’m betting your person shed a tear or two reading this- out of pure joy and thankfulness. I’m sure she feels the same way about you- friends like that are a blessing from above. My sister is my person. I love her more than words could ever say. She will always be my person. <3
I love this post! It made me tear up a bit and think about my bestest friend in the entire world. Gotta love girl friends!
I definitely have a “person”. She has been my friend since we were in 4th grade! We have always been there for each other, and I honestly can’t imagine life without her!
I ended up marrying her brother
and she was the maid of honor at our wedding! I now get to return the favor and be the maid of honor at her wedding! I am so lucky to call her my sister and best friend!
It’s so nice to read this… made me think of my “person”… very similar to your story. My best friend and I have been inseperable for 24 years and I can’t imagine life without her. Thanks for the reminder!
I definitely have my person! She’s been my best friend forever and I know that no matter what, she will always be there for me! This post definitely made me tear up, and don’t worry, the radio makes me cray all the time!
Aw….this has made me feel like I need to go message my bestie right now too! We’ve known each other since grade 9 (eek - 20 yrs now!!!) and she has been living abroad for about 5 years now. She and her family come home to visit every summer and its like we’ve never been apart. I love her like a sister and she means the world to me
Love this post! It made me want to call my “person”
Well, I have two. One is Melissa, who’s been my best friend and neighbor since Kindergarten, and the other is Kendra, who I met in college. All three of us even got to live together for one year in grad school- I miss it!
Aw, this is so sweet. In fact, I’m going to send the link to one of my best friends
. We’ve been friends since high school, and though it’s hard for us to get together now, I always know that she’s there for me. She’s singing at my wedding this summer, and it means so much to me, because we met in choir!
I’ve had the the same group of girl friends for over 15 years but I would have to say that my sister is my “person”. We’re so close in age and we’ve gone through everything together. She knows me better than anyone.
Awww, I LOVED reading this, Chelsey! Makes you really think about the truly important friendships in your life
I miss my person, my person was killed by a drunk driver on our way home after the best spring break our senior year of high school. I haven’t found another person to fill that void. My husband is my everything, but there’s just something about your best girlfriend. If you ever saw the public service announcement on TV with a young girl singing TLC No Scrubs with her friends on spring break, that was my person. Her dad an ER doctor tried to save her, but she died. So hug your person tight and cherish your time together.
Loveeee this!!! Yes I have “a person”. She was my college roommate (I went out of state Nd knew no one…pure luck) and we had the same major. We took every class together, student taught together, etc, etc. we were glued at the hip until we got married. (our husbands actually had the sme major and all classes together, too). We live about an hour apart and see each other about once a month…not often enough!
Such a fantastic post. Had to stop reading a couple times and clear the vision because my eyes welled up immediately. The card aisle always has those “Just for Fun” cards and there are old ladies on the cover who are loving life and have something funny to say. I always look at them and just wonder what their story is, you know “behind” the card, haha. Anytime one really catches my eye (or heart), I have to buy one and send it to my best friend, Alicia. I haven’t known her all my life, but she’s someone who I know will always be in it. And just writing this post breaks my heart because we live about 2 hours apart now and she’s going to be moving even farther away soon because her husband is in the Coast Guard. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Connecticut because that’s still close enough for a weekend!
And when I think about it, I’ve known my friend Lindsay since second grade. And although she lives about an hour and a half away and we don’t always talk on the phone or anything, we can get together for dinner and talk the night away, but it’s never like we haven’t seen each other. It’s just always the same. And I love that. I guess I should very thankful that I have not one, but two persons.
Awwwww! I wish I had a friend like that. I have friends that I’ve been friends with for a long time, but none that I’m really still close with. For the past few years I really haven’t had any close girlfriends.
I’ve been praying to find some though. I really, really miss having real friends!
I totally have “a person”! My friend Samantha and I have been friends since kindergarten!
Love this- I want to go email my bff now!
Is it weird that my person is in his 40′s (I’m 25 and was 19 when we met) and that we met online on an EMT forum? My buddy Mike… he’s my go to. He gets me. I get him. We can discuss anything from case studies to relationships to crazy family… he’s always a phone call away, and vice versa. We’ve helped each other through some of the best and worst things in our lives! He really is my best friend, I think. I have girl friends that I very much like… but when it’s important, Mike is who I call.
I think it’s just meant to be sometimes…. age and distance be damned…
Yes, I have her person. My best girl friend Ryan. I call her my LOBSTER (it’s a Phoebe / Friends reference).
“It’s a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You know what? You can actually see old lobster couples walkin’ around their tank, you know, holding claws”
Though we aren’t in “love” like I am with my husband, I see Ryan and I walking around, holding hands when we are old and gray!!
SUCH a good reminder to call my best friend and tell her I love her
We don’t see each other often at all, but I really need to start making a better effort.
I definitely have a ‘person’. I just went interstate to visit her this weekend and had an absolute blast. it doesn’t matter how long we go between visits, when we see each we just pick up where we left off!