One of my best friends from high school passed away yesterday. I learned the news from another of my best friends from high school.
No matter how far I go in this life, I can still so easily be pulled into the past- vividly remembering the ones I knew and loved (or hated), the parties and football games, crushes and heartaches, laughter and tears-sometimes all those events happening within a single day; you know, a typical teenage tornado. Each time I hear news of a classmate passing, a tiny piece of the innocence I retain from that time dies with them. I think this one finally took what little I had left.
I met Margaret in seventh grade. We were both in pigtails and I liked her immediately. How do you define what draws some people together and not others? I can’t answer that, but what I do know is that Margaret became an extremely close planet in my universe, with Lake Braddock Secondary School as our sun.
Margaret had a condition known as brittle bones; they would snap like a twig at the slightest pressure. One of my early memories with her was her arm breaking while she was attempting to do a back walkover. Snap, just like that. I have no idea why she was doing any gymnastics at all, but I imagine I probably told her she could. We both learned that day not to listen to me in most circumstances.
Once we were old enough to drive, Margaret’s mom bought Margaret what she defined as a ‘tank’; a huge car to protect Margaret from harm in case of an accident. What it really became was the party wagon, with sometimes up to 10 of us crammed into her whale of a vehicle. On the occasions we traveled alone, Margaret would force me to listen to tapes her mother had given her- ‘How to Marry Rich’. At the time, I thought it was crazy to teach someone to marry for money, but I totally get it now.
Margaret’s mom was a kick ass woman who let us party at her house, but wouldn’t let us leave until we were sober. I know that letting kids drink sounds terrible now, but it was a different time back then and her being lenient as well as responsible with us was pretty cool. She was (and I’m sure still is) funny, strong-willed, interesting, and just a little quirky. Margaret had all those qualities and I loved her fiercely for her beautiful heart.
As happens with some friendships, ours survived in a time capsule, but not in the real world. Life has a way of pulling us in a million different directions and creating entirely new universes depending on our geographical location, our evolution as human beings, and each new sun we revolve around. I had hoped to see Margaret at a few reunions, but it wasn’t until our 40th in 2019 that we finally came together. It was as if we had never been apart. I love that I got to see Margaret, hug her with all my heart, laugh and talk about our lives then and now, and part knowing our friendship would endure regardless of what our futures held for us.
My future will include holding you in my heart until the day I take my last breath. I love you, my friend and I will miss you dearly.
A tribute to days gone by-
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