reunited (and it feels so good)

Andrea and I met when I moved into the house that my family still lives in. We were eleven years old, and she and her twin sister, Wendy, became my fast friends. Some of the best stories are those of the twins tricking teachers and others with their identical appearance. If you didn't know them, you really couldn't tell them apart. They drove our bus driver, Allen (affectionately referred to as "Nella") absolutely insane. Wendy was fond of acting up, Andrea was more studious. But when Wendy misbehaved, she used Andrea's name. Poor Nella never knew who he was yelling at.

Wendy found a boyfriend pretty early on, who went to a different high school, so we didn't see much of her :), but Andrea and I were pretty inseparable. I did her paper route with her on Sunday mornings so she could come to church with me. We went to Lake Powell, Brian Head, we played in the marching band together (clarinet, baby), and we endured not only the typical teenage angst but also some heart breaking times. Andrea spent most of our high school years as a fifth sister. To this day, she calls Lichelle (my mom), "mom."

Just after we graduated, Andrea joined the Marines. I saw her occasionally, but her tours of duty took her to the far reaches of the earth. She got married, had a baby (who is now six!), gave four years to the Marine Corps, and a myriad of other experiences while I did the education thing, a couple years at Dixie, a couple more at BYU, and then some years in the workforce.

Just before I got married, I was absolutely determined to find the twins. I called every number I had on them, all of which were dead ends. I called mutual friends. I searched the phone book for their relatives. Nothing. Finally, when I was absolutely desperate, I abandoned my pride and called Wendy's ex-husband. He was very gracious and gave me the last number he had for Wendy. I called it, just praying I'd get something. It was Wendy's new husband. He asked who was calling:

"Well, it's Shauntel, an old friend."
"Shauntel? I've heard about you! Wendy - it's Shauntel!"
Wendy: "Shut up. No it's not."

Wendy was able to catch me up - Andrea had since divorced, but was living in, you guessed it, North Carolina. (As a Marine, she was stationed here.) I gave Andrea a call and we were able to reconnect. Andrea is now seven months pregnant (with a baby boy) living with her beautiful daughter Elise. They flew out to Georgia today, and because the airport is closer to me than her, she drove down last night and spent the night with us. It was an absolute joy to see her again and to see how grown up her Elise is. We ate layered bean dip (one of my mom's specialties that Andrea loves, good thing I'm a mini mom, plus a few inches) and sat around chatting, just like old times.

I love that we have lived incredibly different lives, but have found our way to the same place once again. I'm so happy to have her close, if only for a few years. Such a beautifully small world we live in.