Special Friends

Morning! I'm freaking out because my mom just booked a ticket for Jordan to fly into Baltimore with me in April for my brother's wedding (300 people in New York, still don't have a dress)and I just realized that both of his passports are expired! Shit. I know where I'll be on Monday morning.
For the first time in I don't know how long, I actually managed to sleep until 9, maybe because I went to bed at 2:). I've been working on reviewing the Italian translation, such a strange feeling to see your words in another language. I showed the first two chapters to Perla, one of my students and she smiled while she was reading...good sign. She's so funny, everytime I see her, she's complaining about her mom. Typical teenager stuff, but one thing she said killed me. She has this best friend named Chiara that her mom can't stand. I said, "Chiara must be the one who doesn't say Good Morning or Please and Thank you to your mom." Perla was like "Yeah, how do you know that?"
Don't we all have that rebellious best friend that our parents can't stand. Mine was and is and forever will be Julie. She's freaking crazier than I am and everything we did together became an unforgettable experience.
We were friends in high school, became closer in camp, started hitting the bars our last year of high school with fake ids and then there was college and our sorority life. There is so nothing in Italy comparable to an American sorority experience, Sofia will have that experience if I have to crawl home to give it to her. I don't think that experience is something Jordan will need based on his personality, but Sofia Madyson is a bomb waiting to explode...just like her Mamma.
Back to Julie and the parents hating rebellious friends. "Jodi, she's too wild for you. She's not a good influence, etc." My mom disliked Julie so much that she prohibitted her from parking her car in our driveway! rotfl.
Julie has stood by me in every single situation of my life, as I have for her. Like the time we had a dated party with our sorority and I was on the date of my life with this guy named Gil - all I can say is jet black hair and the greenest eyes ever. Julie was with a blonde surfer type named Dave and after about one hour was puking her lungs out in the bathroom, I mean to exaggeration like scare the shit out of me puking. So, I left Gil with Dave and proceeded to spend the next two and a half hours in the 2x2 bathroom holding her head. Hell. Sheer hell, a dated party never to be forgotten. And Gil, met the girl of his dreams that night after the party as I was helping Julie to bed. Sometimes things are just not meant to be...damn it!
Aside from the drunken stupor incidents there were the tailgates, Greek Weeks, Crush parties, and daily life of living in one sorority house with 35 other girls - the biggest closet I've had in my life! I worked hard through college so that I could afford to party hard and pay for my car -the greatest part of living in that house with Julie was that every night after the bars all of us would congregate in the House kitchen to talk about the night...guys. We talked over these frozen pizzas "Little Charlie's" that you popped in the toaster and were beyond heaven at 2 am. when you desperately needed something to slam your stomach straight. Julie and I shared many Little Charlies and we laughed so much about everything and everyone...
Of course, then there were the roadtrips: Spring Break in Key West, Fort Lauderdale with my grandparents(Oh my God, that was an experience), Toronto, Sarasota...Had car, would travel. Julie and I have somewhat different taste in music, she likes oldies but goodies and SHOWTUNES blah, and I like rap and modern rock, so we compromised and shoved the Bob Marley cassette in the radio. Then, we moved on to Paul Simon, Carly Simon and James Taylor and somehow managed to drive 24 hours straight from University of Maryland College Park to Key West. Whoa, that was an exceptional Spring Break...think Sloppy Joe's, Tiki Bars and Rumrunners.

How strange that two best friends like us should both have children with special needs. Julie's three year old son is autistic and she is just the most devoted mother I have ever seen. She is doing everything in her power to love her boy and meet his needs...and she is doing it alone, because I am freaking halfway across the world. Most of the time friendship requires that you interact and share in your friends' lives day in and day out, but then there are those very special relationships that don't require that you speak every day to let the person know how much you care and are there for them. We have that kind of best girlfriend love thing going on. And btw, Julie is allowed to park in the driveway now. I told Perla to hang in there...