Farewell Laverne & Shirley?

Do you know that moment when things click between you and another person? I can tell you the moment I fell in love with my husband; or the situation that made me realize I was willing to step outside my comfort zone and form a friendship with Mich. Over the years, I have experienced several moments when I realized the person before me was going to have an impact on my life.

One of those moments was my first day on the job in Indiana. Between breakfast at six and hours of touring the facility, I began to not feel good around noon. Now, I know why I had these symptoms, but back then, I figured my blood sugar had dropped. In a rather embarrassing moment with my new boss, I gripped the edge of the desk and told him I might pass out. My boss rushed me into a chair and had a librarian come sit with me while he ran to get me a Sprite. For those who know our no drinking rule in the department, this is actually hilarious in retrospect. The librarian talked calmly to me, introducing herself and chatting in general. This was the moment I met one of my best friends, Becky.

During our chat, we realized we lived in the same apartment complex and the next thing I knew I had lunch plans for the week and a group outing scheduled for the weekend. And we've been friends ever since. Two years later, hubby and I decided to downsize apartments, so I trotted over to the complex office and asked to downsize, but only if I could live in Becky's building. It would make our running back and forth between apartments easier. The next day, the manager called to offer me the apartment across the hall from Becky, which began the solidity of our reputation as Laverne & Shirley.

Everyone knew we interacted a lot, though we didn't hang out as much as people thought. I can go for days when I only see Becky at work rather than at home, but people lumped us together because they were used to us looking for apartments together (though separate apartments, just in the same building), carpooling, socializing together and working out together. Our Pizza and Lost nights are legendary and have now transcended into a weekly t.v. night ritual, when we catch up on watching episodes of our favorite shows. We've learned over the years, it is better for us to watch t.v. together just for the joint reactions to scenes. At one point, each of us considered buying Leslie's house, but Leslie commented that she knew we wouldn't want to live apart. And she was right! One of my frequent comments to hubby as we looked at houses concerned not having Becky across the hall.

This is not a farewell to Laverne & Shirley. Though hubby and I have a contract on a house, it is 2 miles from our current place. Becky will, of course, have a key; there is a guest room available for her and Sadie cat if ever needed; and we're still best pals, who can still carpool, plan impromptu dinners, and have t.v. night. I'm viewing this as a change in venue, which is better for all. For those who attended a few of our Lost nights, you know my place got a bit cramped, so now we'll have lots of room.