Goodbye, my friend

Usually I change the names to protect the crazy, but I'm making an exception for this one. I want to talk about my friend, Colleen. We said goodbye to her this week and I can't stop thinking about her.

We met when we were 16, at the Boys and Girls Club, where we both worked for years. She started in the pool area being a lifeguard and teaching kids to swim. I was the slacker at the front desk who always managed to find a way to hang out where I wasn't supposed to. Which meant we talked all day long, either through notes, or quick runs back and forth.

She taught me to drive, because she couldn't believe that I didn't know how. So when she drove me home at night she would make me do circles in the cul-de-sac. They were extremely slow circles, because I was terrified of knocking over her Pound Puppies.

Sleepovers usually included being loud and a Hawaiian pizza, extra pineapple. Every year on St. Patrick's Day I texted her "Merry Colleen's Christmas." To remember her birthday she told me it was the same night as Paul Revere's ride, so that text was always "Happy Paul Revere Day!" She used my full name more than my mother, whenever I was being ridiculous, or stubborn, or crazy. Not surprisingly, I was more afraid of her than my mother.

When she was site coordinator at the after school program, she couldn't believe we thought it was weird that she was teaching the kids Beirut, or as she put it, hand eye coordination skills and wrist elbow alignment. To the kids they were throwing marshmallows in dixie cups. She always had a plan or a project for them, its funny the one fight I actually remember getting into with her was when she was the slacker. She was planning her wedding and the kids were watching another movie, and I yelled at her. She did make a beautiful bride complete with a crown, though.

We shared books, so much so that when I finally got a Nook I gave her the login info so she could still read the books I did from her iPad. We loved girly movies. We loved going to see the movies based off of books, so then we could drive ourselves crazy with all the things they left out. After seeing Confessions of a Shopaholic I got a facebook message, "Why would they change the color of the scarf?!" To this day it still makes me laugh, how upset she was over that. When we saw How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, she couldn't get over the fact that Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey weren't together in real life, so you better believe if they ever do end up together, she finally matched them up. The last movie we went to was Magic Mike, because obviously. I had forgotten til I saw the movie stub on Saturday after I got the call, that it was the most awkward movie experience, because about 10 minutes after it started, a random single guy, snuck in and sat in front of us. We couldn't stop giggling.

After that she usually wasn't up to nights out. You wouldn't know it though, when I showed up at her house with my Gilmore Girls dvds, in pajamas to her with a smile on her face and a "hi, Jen!" She was so much fun that even those nights were occasions. She would have an ice bucket for wine and a tray of at least 3 different cheeses and crackers. Depending on the night it was nonstop talking or just quiet tv watching. The night always ended when her amazing husband came home, not because she kicked me out, but because seeing them look at each other with so much love, I wanted to leave, so they could have more time with each other.

My favorite strawberry-blonde-because-holy-crap-don't-call-her-a-redhead, Irish loving friend, has been my friend for half my life and I don't know why it had to be for such a small half. She was fun, smart, brave, and so so strong, and I will miss her for all the rest of my days. I hope right now she's warm on a beach somewhere, fresh pedicure on her toes, fresh drink in her hand with an umbrella, thank you, reading a book and waiting for us all to get there.