My bestest best

my life long friend ashley wrote a blog yesterday on how much she loves me. as i was writing a comment to thank her and tell her i loved her too, nothing i typed felt like it was expressing how much i really loved her. so instead, i am returning the favor:

blow dryer,

i love you too. and here are just 5 of the reasons why.

- napkin

1. as long as i can remember ashley has always had cool things. she loves fashion, cars, shoes ect. but what makes her unique is that in no way, shape or form do those things or have those things ever defined her or made up a part of who she is. for example:

one time right after christmas when we were really young, like 8 or something, ashley came over to play. she brought over her new light blue jansport backpack. inside were her new white and blue adidas tennis shoes, still in the box and everything. she took them out, and while lacing them up for the first time, she told me how much she had been wanting them and how much she loved them. we both thought they were so cool. after all, they were adidas ;-) we were getting ready to go outside and play and she says "do you want to wear my new tennis shoes??". i was in disbelief. i cant remember exactly what i said but i know i ended up wearing them the rest of the day. all day we played in the mud and climbed fences and ashley didnt say a word about being careful with them or getting them dirty. she didnt show an ounce of wishing she could be the one wearing them the first time or regret that she let me wear them. i dont know why let me wear them, but that whole day i remember feeling special and wondering why on earth someone would let break in their new shoes.

to anyone else, that probably sounds like a silly memory. to me though, that shows some of ashley true character. stuff has always and will always be just that to her- stuff. although she has interest fashion and whatnot, she truly only cares about the real guts people and life have to offer. and i love that about her.

2. which brings me to # 2. they ( as in the book i read called what your childhood memories say about you) say that your early memories are there for a reason, not by chance. it says that at the time of that memory, your subconscious was attempting to figure something out, and that the experience you remember was the answer to that question it was trying to solve.

ashley and i played together 239489840348903 times before and after that shoe memory, but that is the one that always sticks out to me. i think i remember that particular memory because it answered my question as to what a true friend is. and i guess in my 9 year old world, a true friend was one who would let another break in her new tennis shoes.

i have handfuls of memories with ashley like that. my point with all this is that without ashley, my life really would have been different. and not just the little things. big choices and views on major things would have been completely different without her. i believe we only meet a few people like that in our lifetime, and ashley is one of those people for me.

3. ive become a cry baby. its true. although i aspire to be one of those people who is tough and never cries, i have come to terms with the fact i am a big fat cry baby now.

things were not always this way though. before i was married (sorry to pull that switch-arooo on ya beej) i almost never cried and definitely never let anyone else see me cry. everyone has their moments though. you know those moments when things are just too much and although you dont want someone to comfort you, what you need more than anything is to just have someone hug you while you sit and cry. everyone has them. anyway, back when i was not such a cry baby, ashley is one o the few people i could turn to during those moments. ashley always listened the way i needed and said the right things at the right moments. i am so grateful to have a friend like that.

4. ashley will tell it how it is no matter what. she is honest whether you want to hear it or not. if she doesnt think something i am saying is funny, she will stare at me with a blank face instead of fake laughing. haha. its refreshing and i love her for it.

her outspoken ways have also made it so she always sticks up for me. i am not always the most outspoken, ashley knows this. in return whether i am actually upset or not about something SHE gets upset for me. its funny and i love that she sticks up for me and cares so much.

small example: ashley came to visit before thanksgiving. we went to the movies and on our way to the line, we passed a mexican who said something to us in spanish. i am pretty sure he was hitting on us bc he whistled and looked us up and down. just a guess. if it had of just been me, i would have just kept walking and ignored him. people think im mex all the time. its whatev. but not ashley. my white friend with blondish reddish hair, bright blue eyes, who is almost 5 foot nothin' and CLEARLY does not know spanish, whirls around and says "EXCUSE ME, I KNOOOOOW SPANISH. AND YOU ARE RUDE". or something like that. hahahha. how could you not love her??? seriously.

5. i looooove laughing with her. we are always laughing when we are together, regardless of if the thing we are laughing at is really that funny. when we are together things are just funnier.

we are ALWAYS on the same page. when we lived together i really think it kinda freaked people out because we can know what the other is thinking just by a glance. and she always knows when im lying. she doesnt always call me out on it but i know she knows. haha. she is the bestest best friend anyone could ask for and i love her!!!!!

i love you ashley!!!!!