Old Friends

Brandy and I moved to Edmond in May of 1995. We had come down from Bartlesville several times to look for houses. I can't remember how many neighborhoods we looked in, but it was a lot. As it turned out, the house we bought and moved into was right across the street from some high-school friends or ours, Mark and Rebecca. Brandy had grown up with Mark. They were the center/quarterback tandem on the 7th grade football team, they were in the First Baptist Church youth group together, and they graduated in the Bartlesville High School class of 1984. I went to high school with Rebecca and we were on the pom pon squad together. We went to camp together, went out on weekends (when she wasn't out with Mark), and took a high school trip to Florida together. So when Brandy and I moved to Edmond, of course we were thrilled to have them as neighbors.

The day we moved in I remember looking out the window seeing Mark and Rebecca's two-year-old daughter, Taylor, be-bopping up the sidewalk, curls bouncing, bringing us a cherry pie. That was the first memory in a long list of Edmond memories we have with Mark and Rebecca.

After we moved in, two-year-old Lincoln and Taylor (six months his junior) became great friends and playmates. They would play at the park together, play at each other's houses, and in the summer we would take them to the neighborhood pool almost every day. We have pictures of Taylor and Lincoln sitting on the driveway licking popsicles, sitting together in our living room chair watching TV, bundled up in winter clothes building snowmen, and running through the sprinkler in their diapers. Both of our families grew, and as our kids got older our girls became good friends with Taylor, and Lincoln became friends with Cooper, who is a few years younger.

When we lived across the street from Mark and Rebecca we would see them almost every day. We would have cookouts together, watch football games together, order pizza, or just hang out in the yard on summer evenings. When Lincoln had his first loose tooth, it was Mark who pulled it. Same with Lillie.

Rebecca has watched my kids more times than I can remember. She has been the one to watch them each time I was in the hospital having a baby. One of those times she came over in her jammies in the middle of the night. When little Mary Margaret awoke the next morning to find Rebecca lying next to her in bed, she didn't react with alarm (saying "What are you doing here?" or "Where's my mommy?"). Rather, she simply opened her eyes and said matter-of-factly, "I know what one plus two is. Three."

Mark and Rebecca have brought us meals and helped us move (twice). The last time they helped us move, Mark wouldn't leave until he had finished setting up all the beds. Mark is also the person I call if I need to know something important. Like why is my air conditioner making a funny noise, how do I unstop my garbage disposal, or can you come over and adjust my sprinkler heads for me? He literally always knows the answer and will come help if I ask him. When Lillie had to have emergency surgery for a broken arm, Rebecca came to get Lincoln and Mary Margaret. I didn't give them a second thought. I knew they would be fine -- they were with Rebecca.

As our kids grew, started going to different schools, and became involved in different sports and activities, we didn't see Mark and Rebecca as much (although Brandy did see Mark every day at work; Mark came on staff as OCPA's president four years ago and has been a great person to work for and with). We had also both moved and didn't live right across the street anymore. These changes didn't seem to matter though. No matter how often we saw them it was always the same. Comfortable. Going to their house is like being with family. My kids feel right at home at their house and so do we. I know where Rebecca keeps the Diet Coke and know she won't care if I go get one. They are lifelong friends. We'll go to their kids' graduations and weddings and will brag to each other about our grandkids.

Well, having said all that, it's not surprising that when Brandy recently told me that Mark and Rebecca were moving to Wichita, I didn't take the news well. Yes, I am thrilled for them. Mark is taking an exciting new job and it's a great opportunity. Even though we don't see them as much as we used to, the fact is I'm going to miss them. A lot.

When I think back on my kids' childhood and our early years of marriage, Mark and Rebecca and their kids will be a big part of those memories. I will always be grateful for their friendship and the times we had together.

And I'm already planning a road trip to Wichita.