Sweet Sixteen

Tomorrow I am celebrating an occasion that only happens once in a lifetime. (Well, once in everyone's lifetime.) My best friend is turning sixteen. It isn't so much an occasion for the usual reasons, she already has her driver's license, she already has a car, and she won't necessarily be gaining privileges or freedoms by this "long-awaited" birthday. It's just amazing to me because I can't believe we made it here. Last I checked we were eight and nine, and we were both too shy to talk to each other, we were little and bony, and giggly, and we thought that teenagers were evil. Cary and I became best friends in an instant. We were on a field trip to an Amish bakery for a 4-H cooking project, and started talking. I had forgotten to bring a water bottle, so Cary kindly shared hers, only I didn't know her very well, so I didn't think I should put my mouth on the bottle. So, I carefully tipped up the bottle and poured about two ounces of good ol' H2O down the wrong pipe. I choked, and choked... and choked some more. After a few minutes her parents started getting worried. But that's how it all started. When I finally got my lungs back in working order, we laughed about it, and it has pretty much been the same way since. In the five-plus years that we have known each other we have never had a single fight or argument. That's rare. Well, I've said all this to say, here's to you on your birthday Cary, and thanks for being my best friend! You rock, and I couldn't ask for a better BFFAA.
Mary-Hannah Christina McGuffey