Love in the first degree! (Juniors in general)

Member Name: skittle

Product:	Juniors in general
Date:	21/02/03 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good stuff

Disadvantages: Bad stuff too

It was September when we first met. She told me afterwards that she'd noticed me straight away, before I even saw her. Well, she didn't have much choice, I suppose, she was sitting right behind me, you see. She told me that she'd hated me that first time she'd seen me. She was eaten up with jealousy because I was sitting there, giggling and happy, snuggled on the lap of the strapping fella I was with. She, on the other hand, was there with her mum. Years later we talked about that day, the day we first met. She admitted that despite the jealousy, she was desperate to get to know me better. Of all the people in the room she only had eyes for me. I can understand why. After all, that day the two of us were the only four year olds in the parents meeting at our new school!

OK, I'll admit it right now, this isn't your conventional first love we have here. There's nothing remotely romantic or sexual between Caroline and I, but from the first moment we were introduced to each other in Mrs Arnold's classroom twenty five years ago, we were bestest, bestest friends! Well, if I'm absolutely honest, it wasn't from the very first moment we met. Oh no, we had the jealousy issue to get over first. The strapping fella mentioned above was, of course, my dad. Caroline was furious because I'd been allowed to sit on my dad's lap during the meeting, but her mum had insisted that now she was going to school she was a big girl and had to sit on one of the hard, plastic chairs on her own, instead. Still, we got over this little hiccup as soon as we were shown Mrs Arnold's special plastic zoo. We were soon playing together like we'd known each other all our lives, until between us we managed to break one of the toys! The conspiratorial air between us after that little escapade quickly cemented our friendship, a 'love' which has stuck with us through thick and thin (but which of us is thick and which t
hin I'll leave you to figure out for yourselves!)

We did everything together when we were little. All the way through infants and on into juniors we were totally inseparable, we even looked a little alike. We were both tall for our age with long brown hair, and we had been born only six days apart (I'm the older, more sensible one!) We certainly weren't identical, but we looked enough alike to share the lead part in our middle school play. She took the part of Cinderella in the posh dress at the ball, whereas I was the raggedy Cinderella, scrubbing the floor and being bullied by the ugly sisters, a case of life imitating art, I guess (now I just have to hope that none of my sisters read this!)

Of course, we had our little tiffs. I detested her first boyfriend (the feeling was entirely mutual) though I suspect there was slightly more than a hint of jealousy involved in our dislike of each other! Then again, I can't remember her ever fully approving of any of my boyfriends either for that matter. We were lucky enough to be placed in the same class, and we would always sit next to each other, conspiring together and sharing everything. Caroline was one of the most popular girls in the school, and although I myself was a bit of a misfit (I like to think it's because I didn't have the right trainers, rather than anything to do with my personality!) I shone a little brighter in Caroline's company, she brought out the best in me.

I know, I know, this is all too soppy and sick-making for words, and I'm almost 100% sure that I'm seeing my idyllic childhood through heavily rose-tinted glasses, but hey, it's my childhood and I'll remember it however I like, so there!

As we progressed through middle school and our personalities began to grow we developed other friendships, and new best friends, but we always gravitated back to each other. That was why it was such a shock when we discover
ed that although we were going to the same secondary school, we would be in different 'houses', so would no longer be having lessons together. However, we had so many things in common, and spent so much out-of-lesson time together that our friendship didn't change too much. She was there for me through all of my teenage trauma's. She agreed that parents are evil, miniskirts don't look cheap and yes, my ex-boyfriend (who unceremoniously dumped me when he found somebody he liked better) was so unworthy of me that she could never understand what I saw in him in the first place. I like to think that I supported her in the same way.

Eventually we left school, but remained firm friends. At 19 we wanted to do something special to celebrate our friendship and the fact that we were now 'women' and not little girls anymore, so we decided to get tattoos. This was an unusual step for young girls in our town ten years ago, and we were pretty terrified about the thought of how much it would hurt. In some ways going through with it was something of a right of passage, we had to pass the test together, and we did (although it did hurt like hell!)

It was only a matter of months later that I met the man I was going to marry. Caroline was worried for me, getting married at 20 years old was a big step for anyone, and she wasn't altogether convinced that I'd made the right choice in husband. However, despite her concerns she still offered her support by agreeing to be my bridesmaid.

Time passed, and we continued growing up, finding that we had to take responsibilities in the real world. The real test of our friendship was when Caroline went away to University, and I stayed working in a dull job in our home town. It would have been so easy to drift apart at that stage, however, we stayed close. We wrote regularly and met up without fail as regularly as we could when she came home. She did more for me than tha
t, though. Through her own determination to make something of herself, she inspired me to leave my boring job, and our home town, and go to University to make more of my own life.

We don't see each other as often as I'd like to, anymore, and I have to take the blame for that. I need to make more of an effort, but we're fast approaching 30, now, and sometimes life just seems to get in the way of friendships and having fun. But every time I see or speak to Caroline, even if I haven't seen her for more months than I care to remember, it's like we've never been apart. Our friendship is such that we can just start it right up again exactly where we left off, even when that was a very, very long time ago.

Of course, things haven't been all sweetness and light between us, we've had more bust-ups than I can shake a stick at! But even after the worst of our many arguments a little time licking our respective wounds would see us gravitating towards each other again. She's more like my sister than my best friend. She's seen me at my absolute worst, she knows about my secret dark side, she's held my hair as I puked and mopped my tears when I've been dumped. I don't think she realises just how much she means to me, and I've certainly never told her, but I value her friendship as one of the most important things in my life. Our relationship is incredibly special, I've loved her since the day we met, 25 years ago, and I don't see that ever changing.

She's more than my best friend, she's my inspiration (and now that my sister is married to her cousin, she really is family!)

This one's for Caroline, here's to first love!

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