when i was still in college at eup, i convinced 'sted to take a road-trip to boston on a cold snowy friday night in february. we took her car, as it was more reliable than mine was, and both of us could drive it, if needed. (mine in school was a nasty blue escort, with a stick shift.) i remember all the things we told people about where we were going, her dad thought we were going one place. her boyfriend thought we were somewhere else... and, i told my parents nothing.
the drive was oh-so-painfully long... but, being there with her in the car, driving along the interstates, talking and listening to the radio, was so much fun. i remember being silly, making up stories about the exits we were passing, making up new words to popular songs on the radio. and, trying to figure out just what in the hell we were actually doing going to boston.
it was great, when we were there. that is a very fond memory of spending time with 'sted. we've been other places together, met in airports and have found each other in strange places, if only to spend a little while in each other's presence.
now, we're not in the right places to meet up, anymore. i can't decide to surprise her at work, on a lazy saturday afternoon. and, i'm sorry i don't have that chance now.
three years ago, she rearranged her life, and bought a dress and a plane ticket to pennsylvania just to be there as my maid of honour. she promised she would do it, three and a half years earlier, the very night wallace proposed to me. and, i couldn't even picture what it might have been like without her.
now, i haven't seen her for a whole year... she came with shae and bea, when they picked bea up at the airport in atlanta. they were here for only an hour or so. and only a week or two after that, she and chad were packing up all their belongings and left for san francisco.
she's been my best friend for almost a third of my life. and there isn't much that she doesn't know about me. i hope that her memory is long and clear... because if anything were ever to happen to me, i would want her to be able to tell savannah who her mommy was... (not that i think that anything will happen, but i know more than most people how quickly one's life can change instantly.)
'sted joked with me last night about savannah, saying, 'you'll eventually have to come to california anyway, after savannah turns 16 and freaks out on you and runs off to be with auntie halsted.'
and 'sted being savannah's auntie isn't cute or funny. it's just as real (to me) as if we were blood-related. and, i look forward to her spending time with savannah in the future, more especially since she and chad don't know if they'd like to have children of their own. and, i know how much 'sted has to offer my child... the things that savannah might learn and appreciate and respect in 'sted.
so, why in the world am i babbling on about 'sted today, you might ask? well, mostly because i wanted to... and, hopefully i'll have a chance to talk to her on the phone tonight. and also because, i had a comment made on a previous journal entry, from someone i don't know, personally, named gina. she said, 'btw: halsted is wicked-cool, isn't she? :)'
i didn't reply on the site, but i want to respond to that now by saying, you have no idea just how cool...