Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

This weekend my best friend from high school, Jennifer, visited Chicago, so I spent the weekend with her. I have not seen her for 6 years, so it was very nice to hang out with her. She and I were very close from 7th grade on. We wrote notes to each other every day (I still have most of these!), we took many of the same classes, we went to movies together, and we had the same taste in music, especially The Beatles, Depeche Mode, and Morrissey.

One of the things we did was visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens, which is a 385-acre expanse featuring 23 different gardens, from a English walled garden to an aquatic garden to a Japanese garden to a waterfall garden. This was one of the best "tourist" spots I have ever visited, and I cannot believe that I lived in Chicago before but have never been to the Botanic Garden before. Jennifer and I walked around the grounds for hours, and the whole experience was beautiful and peaceful and contemplative. I will definitely be a frequent visitor throughout my life, and I cannot wait for out-of-town guests so I can take them to this wonderful spot.





Our lives took very different paths after high school. Jennifer moved to Washington, D.C., earned her degree from George Washington University, and now she works as a stay-at-home-mom of four beautiful kids. But even though we are in very different places in our lives, so many of my great memories from high school involve Jennifer, so I know that no matter how much time or distance separates us, she will always be an important part of my life.

"To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed -- That can make life a garden."
-Goethe