It was fall of 2005.
I was in my second to last semester of college and like any good "senior" I had decided to leave Art History class early to beat the traffic back up to Los Feliz from CSULB. (the 605, to the 710, to the 5) I took the walkway that would take me past Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to fuel up before my annoyingly long drive home to the best apartment ever. The best apartment ever that I was in danger of losing. My cousin had just told me he was going to move home for a bit and had given me his official, "I'm out of here, Los Angeles!" notice so I was desperately trying to figure out how to hold on to my little slice of Los Angeles heaven, a lovely 2 bedroom apartment in The Monterey. I was bouncing along, probably trying to keep my art supplies from cutting off all circulation in my fingers, when I looked up and saw my old suite-mate (L120 anyone!?) Heather walking towards me.
When I started dating my now husband, Tim, I admittedly disappeared from my social circle at the time. I was falling in deep love and started making the drive up to Los Angeles to hang out with him every spare chance I got. This made it difficult to hang on to a lot of the friendships I'd quickly made while living in the dorms and while I had tried my best, most of them lived together in the Long Beach area and I slowly drifted off to my Los Angeles crew. Nonetheless, I was so happy to see Heather because there is no way you can't love her. This girl is just the most authentic human being I know with the brightest warmest smile you've ever seen. She navigates life with such poise, grace, and ease that you instantly want to be just like her.
Like I said, I was leaving early. Turns out the universe had a master plan and Heather was running late. In the very short interaction we had in passing that day I learned that she had just heard she was accepted to USC Graduate school and was trying to figure out what she was going to do for housing in just a few short months. I pounced. "YOU HAVE TO MOVE IN WITH ME," I said. "The universe is telling us so!" This was the first of MANY times Heather and I would trust the universe and the first of many times it would prove to us that our friendship is written in the cosmos. From that day on, our lives have been so strangely weaved together in so many unexpected ways that sometimes it even weirds us out. While I reserve the term soul-mate for my husband, Heather is most definitely my soul-sister. My person. (Thank you Meredith Grey.) My very very best friend.
<Insert a thousand amazing stories that are only funny to her and I - no really, we've tried telling them to others and most of the time we end up rolling on the floor laughing while people look at us like, "um?" Sorry husbands.>
Heather has a sister and a daughter so it was only natural that when Heather found out her and her husband Brian (who I also love fiercely) were expecting their second baby we all just sort of assumed it was a girl. But the universe had other plans. The universe was like, "Meg has a second born boy- do you really think I'd throw you for a loop and give you a different path now?"
And so, a boy.
The newest little love to enter our orbit. The cutest little blondie I ever did see with a nose that could melt even the coldest heart. Heather and I have always laughed over the circumstances that have built our friendship into what it is today but when I look at our children and when I think of them growing up together (however many miles there are between them) it all seems more powerful than laughter or happenstance. Getting through this life without Heather's friendship doesn't seem possible. So, thanks universe- I owe you one.
Everett, I can't wait to tell you how you cried through your entire first photo shoot and torture you for the rest of your life with more and more photographs. Can't wait to hold you again, sweet boy!
