Old Friends
May 30th, 2008 @ 12:04 pm by Mrs. Hummingbird
Picture courtesy of www.kiddlywinks.com
Way back around the time I started blogging in the fall, I wrote about a falling out I had with a person I referred to as my best friend. The thing I’ve come to learn about friends is, the real ones, the ones who love you and care about your happiness are the ones who will stand by you and be there for you. Which is why, with the wedding coming up, I wanted to share a story of someone who has been like that for me for a long time now - my friend Oscar.
Oscar and I became friends in the first grade. I instigated our friendship when, on school picture day, I asked for his phone number* (I was a very bold six year old) and we started to talk outside of school. Being the little social coordinator, I soon invited his parents over to my parents’ house for tea one weekend and after that, our families became close. During school breaks, I would often stay over at his house and during the summer, we would all go camping together for vacation. From grade one to grade five, we were the best of friends and I often thought of his family as an extension of my own.
Then in the sixth grade, something sad happened. His dad, under the threat of unemployment, began looking for a new job and, around Christmastime, we found out that his family was going to be moving to rural Alberta, a five hour plane ride away. When he called me to tell me on the phone, we both burst into tears.
But, in spite of the distance, we managed to stay in touch, writing letters every month and planning trips out to see each other. There might have been thousands of miles between us, but I always knew I could count on him. He was there for me when I had my heart broken for the first time and when my dad lost his job, and I was there for him when his childhood dog died and when he broke up with his high school girlfriend.
Like any relationship, ours went through bumps here and there (when we were 18, we got in a stupid argument during one of my trips out to Alberta and didn’t talk for a few months), but we both felt like the friendship was important and worth fighting for, so we worked through things together.
When Mr. Hum and I got engaged, he was one of the first people I told, and next month, almost 20 years after we first became friends, he and his mom are flying across the country to be there at my wedding. It might make me sound like a dork, but when I got his RSVP card in the mail, I did a happy little dance, I was so excited. Seriously? Best! Present! Ever!
So, because I’m in a marshmallow mood and because my last friendship post was kind of a downer, I want to hear some of your great friendship stories. Do you have an old friend coming to your wedding? Share some love and tell me about them.
* I still remember that phone number. 
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8 Responses to “Old Friends”
awwwwwwww Ms. Hum, that is such a heartwarming story! Thank you for sharing it.
Aww, that’s so cute! One of my oldest friends is coming to the wedding…we’ve been good friends for almost 20 years!
one of my best friends had an abusive boyfriend who drove us apart. we came back together and got her out of that situation but when we both went to different schools we grew apart a little. in a few months we will be living in the same city again. i will be asking her to be in my wedding party soon and i am SO excited!
I’m still close with my best bud from pre-school (we met when we were both 2), and it meant so much to me that he came to our wedding… and that he approves of the hubs! Even though there are friends I see more often (we live two states apart now) I know that if I ever called him in the middle of the night, he’d answer, and drop everything to help me. It’s mutual.
Super cute that you still remember your friend’s number… good memory!
My best friend, Karen is one of the kindest and sweetest friends. She is amazing in everyway and shows her friendship to me all of the time. She and I have been friends for 20 years this year and I am so grateful for her.
But I do have some friendships that if someone had told me years ago wouldn’t exist today, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Aw, what a heart-warming story!
[...] being bitter about it, because there were awesome guys out there (my father, my grandfather and my best friend showed me that), but if I was going to keep dating and looking for a relationship, I had to [...]
Mrs. Hummingbird, Toronto
Age and Occupation: 25, Publishing Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Videogame Designer/Cartoonist
Engagement Date: May 4, 2007
Wedding Date: June 28, 2008
Blogging Since: September 18, 2007
Venue: A garden wedding followed by a tented reception on Mr. Hummingbird's father's property.
About Me: I’m a pop culture loving, vintage obsessed foodie living in Canada’s biggest city with my fantastic fiancé and our lovable fluffy cat Bettie. I’m stoked to marry my best friend and to throw what I hope will be
the most fun and colourful party of our lives.
What a sweet post! My best friend from college and I fell out of touch for two years (she was struggling with depression and we were living in different states) and this was an area of much sadness for me. When she heard I was getting married, she flew out to visit, then flew out the next month for my bachelorette party and will fly out again next month for my wedding. I’m so, so, happy to have reconnected with her, and so touched that she’s put so much energy back into our friendship. It means the world to me.