day two- you and the person you used to be close with

My closest and dearest friend for my entire teenage life was Marie. She started investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 7th or 8th grade and I met her in our ward. She lived almost 30 minutes away, attended a different school and had a phone number that was long distance, but that did not stop us from spending as much time together as possible. And when we couldn't be together, we spent hours on the phone. (I cost my dad hundreds of dollars on his cellular phone, also known as "the brick.")

{Jenn and Marie at Youth Conference, 1991}

Marie and I went to BYU together and I don't really know what happened from there. Offense was taken on both sides and we went our separate ways.

I often regret that I didn't find ways to reconnect with her over the years, even though I had many opportunities- she made me a beautiful cross stitch for my wedding and I don't think I ever sent a thank you card; she invited me to her reception and all I did was show off my new baby to old friends; I ran into her once at the post office just after she had her first baby and simply congratulated her before walking out; and I saw her again a few months ago when she visited my ward. After a couple of emails and talk of getting together, I let life get busy and good intentions turned into more time lost.

I don't know how many times she can forgive me for being a slacker, but I know that I still think of her as my "best friend." She was the only one I ever gave half a necklace to and she was the first person I thought of when asked who I used to be close to. And it made me sad to have to say "used to."