I have the best BFF ever!

I am so lucky to have the best friend that I do. Kelli....she is amazing in every way possible and every time I talk to her, she has some new and interesting news.

Today, she told me she has been asked to join the Board of My Hope Chest. What's that you ask? Well, My Hope Chest is an organization that helps uninsured and underinsured victims of breast cancer that have fallen through the cracks in medical care after their mastectomy and are unable to afford reconstructive surgery.

A little over a month ago I started thinking about the path that my life has taken. There have been several strong women in my life that have helped and guided me in my journey. Specifically, my mom - a truly amazing woman, my grandmother - who taught me the value of faith and discipline, and Kelli. We have been best friends since the 7th grade. She has always been a driving force in my life and a constant inspiration to let me know there is never a need to settle until you have exactly what you want. To this day she is still on that quest with no signs of slowing down.

In high school, my mom traveled Mon - Fri. For the better part of my senior year, I lived with Kelli and her family. Kelli's dad passed our junior year of high school so her sisters and mom welcomed my presence in the home. Also, I did my fair share of chores and with 4 teenage girls, you can imagine what the laundry room & bathroom looked like. Kel and I were in the same classes, went to the same school, you get the picture. I did not however, go to work at Taco Bell - ewww!

Not to say that we didn't get into our fair share of trouble together. We had plenty of fun times drinking underage and lurking on hot guys at the campus bars at Ohio State or crashing fraternity parties and drinking jungle juice from an unknown source - I had no idea at the time how lucky we were to not end up in a ditch! We have always been there for one another.

Now Kelli lives in Vegas (woohoo - free place to stay for vacation!!!). She graduated from college (unlike me), got her MBA (definitely unlike me) and has even considered law school (for something new - isn't that why EVERYONE goes to law school!!!) She has leveraged her education and experience into one awesome career move after another. She is a VP in Commerical Banking for the world's largest bank, she is a regional co-chair for a professional women in business organization, she has started college funds for her nieces & nephews and now has been asked to be on the board of this amazing charitable organization. Her boundaries are limitless and her ambition knows no end. I love her so much.

While I am very happy in my current career and estatic that Pookie and I are finally starting our family, I am so very proud of Kelli. It's hard to say that and not sound condescending, but it's true. I don't know if she hears that enough. We have chosen different paths in our adult lives, we each had a "practice" marriage, each have weathered the heartbreak of divorce, and have felt one another's pain. We have had our ups and downs, but isn't that what makes us true friends? We can be honest with one another, we can tell the other that yes, you do look fat in that or the new guy you're dating is a jerk. We have even had to tell the other to get their own head out of their ass every once in a while. We might not talk for a couple weeks, but we always come back to each other. It's just amazing.

Every once in a while, I wonder.....what would my life be like if I had never met Kelli.

Fortunately I will never have to find out.

The latest perk of knowing Kelli....she wears a size 10 shoe (um, she is 6' tall). I USED to wear a 9. My feet are huge since being pregnant. So, in the event that I never get back to my 9's, Kelli has a closet full of 10's just waiting for me.