Birthday Edition: Soulmate

Once upon a time there were two little girls named Chelsea and Cory. They grew up just minutes away from each other in a little town called Newbury Park, California. They both lived in small one-story houses with their siblings and beloved family dogs, Sophie and Beauty. For 6 years they went about their bustling social lives without running into each other at Borchard Park, until one day fate brought them together in Mrs. Sobel's 1st grade class. The year was 1995, and their lives were forever changed.

Although the details of this first meeting are now a little hazy, they often reflect back to this time remembering the finest moments of elementary school playing the "hot lava game" on the playground, laughing at the boy who sat on the blacktop and meditated while chanting "hummmmm" at recess, crushing on two handsome, young, studly gentlemen, Russell & Danny (who played an ever-so-big part of their adolescence), playing Dr. Emma and the Wind Sister's in "The Quest for the Ancient Barometer" and Holly & Mistletoe in "The X-Mas Files," 5th grade square dances, talent shows, YEARS of girl scouts, sleepovers, GATE Club, family trips to Dodger games, being elected the prestigious honors of 5th Grade President and Student Body President, and their first major fight when Chelsea bitch-slapped Cory.

When they made the jump into middle school things started changing - their girl scout troop fell apart, Cory got her first boyfriend, Chelsea joined the school musical, and they each met a lot of new friends - but they never drifted. Even when Cory bunked with someone else at outdoor school and left Chelsea to bunk with a rando, they still remained close.

the last day of 6th grade

And then something awful happened that changed the dynamic of their relationship entirely. Chelsea got the news that her family would be moving to Colorado and despite her parents attempts to convince her and her brother that it would be "so much fun," she immediately ran up to Cory at school the next day and sobbed the unbelievable news. They cried together. A lot. One half of their perfectly formed puzzle piece was leaving the comfortable home they had lived together in for 6 years and it was more than they could bare.

On Chelsea's last day of school, they cried, took pictures, and promised each other that there was not a chance in hell they would ever lose touch. Of course, many people made those kinds of promises because at 12 years old it's hard to imagine not always having the friends you have right that second in your life forever. But their friendship was different because they knew in their hearts they were soulmates and that not even 1,500 miles of distance between them could change that. This move was nothing more than a test from the universe and by the hammer of Thor they would pass that shit with flying colors.

So they spent the next ten years visiting each other for a week every summer and 2 days at Christmas. They would talk on the phone for hours and cry every time they had to hang up. They missed some of the most trivial moments in each others lives that could only be shared over a phone call or an email, but they stayed strong and consistent through middle school, high school, and college. They became each others constant through all the ebbs and flows of life - first loves, first heart break, graduations, failed friendships, family deaths, and everything in between.

They finally reached a point in their lives where it was physically possible to see each other more often when Chelsea's family moved again. This time to Las Vegas, an easy 4 hour drive or a cheap plane ticket away, making it much easier to be there for the important stuff like 21st birthday milestones or crisis situations that only the loving hug of a best friend can fix.

At 23 years old they've realized that true friendship can weather time and distance and that certain people may come and go from our lives, but real soulmates can never be torn apart by these mundane excuses. In their 17 year friendship there has never been a doubt in their minds that this is forever, that no matter what happens in life they can depend on each other for honesty, advice, and comfort, and that they can make it through any test the universe throws their way. They've now spent the better half of their lives apart but have more memories together and love for each other than most people can dream up in a lifetime.

Chelsea loves Cory with all her heart and wants to wish her the best birthday in the entire world. And she knows it will be the best because it's the first one since before she moved to Colorado that she gets to stand beside her best friend and help her celebrate.

 

Here's to 23 years of life,
17 years of friendship,
and one hell of a Vegas weekend coming up.
I love you, Cory Elizabeth Welsh.