My BFF

My BFF, Lou and I when we were 15 and 16. It was her sweet 16, and her mom was plotting a surprise party. She wanted me to invite her to spend the night the night before so she would be able to make all the necessary preparations. I was excited to not only have her spend the night, but to be part of this great secret plot! Funny thing, I can not remember for the life of me, what I gave her for her birthday. I digress. I called her on that Friday afternoon and asked her if she could spend the night.

"I don't think I can." came her sad response.
"why?" I asked, knowing full well she could.
"Because my mom grounded me for life." again, I am unable to recall what her offense was. I need to ask her! Not knowing how to convince my BFF to try anyway, we talked a bit more and then got off the phone. About 5 minutes later, her mother called.

"Why didn't she ask me?" Linda asked.
"She said you grounded her for life." I told her.
"Oh, that's right!"She exclaimed. "Call her back, and ask her again."

I did as I was asked, and again Lou was to afraid to ask. Her mom called again. I told her what was happening. She told me to that she say I called her and asked for Lou. As Linda recounted the story to me later, she said it was very hard to maintain a straight face as she told Lou that if she stayed on her best behavior, and that she would have to be back to grounded again she could sleepover. Loula was so excited. She could hardly believe her luck. This picture was taken before we went to her house for the party. She was very surprised and it was a success. I grew up with Loula. We met when we were 6 and 7. And even though at age 17, her family moved to Ohio, we never lost contact. We still remain as sisters to this day.

This picture was taken in 2007 as my family traveled across the country from VA to CA. This was the first time in 20 years that we had seen each other.