Handbags, best friends, and orange chicken

(Hey, I did warn you that this would be...err..tangential, didn't I?)

Yesterday, my best friend and I went out and did girl stuff. She lives three hours away and has four kids and a night job to boot, so it was something of a miracle that she made it down at all. But she did. And we had a blast. We hit our local metaphysical supply store (hey, where else are you going to get both altar statues and incense?), our local Coach outlet (bwahaahahahah!) and brought orange chicken home for dinner from our favorite Chinese place. (Or in other words, we fulfilled our evolutionary destiny as hunters and gatherers by shopping. And we helped the economy too...you can't beat that. :-P)

Alwyn (not her real name) and I have been friends since we were *mumble, mumble* teenagers and when we were out yesterday, it struck me how nice it was to have known someone that long---before I was a mother, before I was a wife...back to when we were both teenagers working at the Ren Faire. We've grown and changed, of course, and there have been times when we've been thoroughly annoyed with and by each other, but after nearly 20 years, we're still friends. I've known that she'll be there for me no matter what, and she knows the same. She helped keep me sane when I was on bedrest and was there when I had my daughter. And somehow, even though it's been nearly a year since we've talked to each other, we can just pick up after we left off...like we were never apart at all.

Anne Rivers Siddons in her novel Colony wrote of another friendship that the character's spouse was her heart, but the friend was her soul. I can't think of a better way to say it. :)