“A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtful and turned a clear, somber glance upon her daughter.“Don’t forget your girlfriends,” she advised whirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass “They’ll be more important as you get older. No matter how munch you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have; you are still going to need your girlfriends. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that ‘girlfriends’ also mean your sisters, our daughters, and other women relatives too. You’ll need other women. Women always do.”“What a funny piece of advice!” the young woman thought. Haven’t I just gotten married? Haven’t I just joined the couple-world? I’m now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup. Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make life worthwhile! But she listened to her mother.

She kept contact with her girlfriends and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mother really new what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, girlfriends are the mainstay of her life. After almost 50 years of living in this world, here is what she learned: Time passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Love waxes and wanes. Hearts break. Careers end. Jobs come and go. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Men don’t call when they say they will.

BUT…good girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A good girlfriend is never farther away than a phone call.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk for yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on you behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end. Sometimes they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in, and carry you out.

As I watched Grey’s Anatomy last night and the very last scene ended, I was reminded of the above story that I’ve received time and again through email forwards. How is this story and last night’s episode of Grey’s comparable you may ask? Well, you see, in some ways, I am completely comparable to Meredith. And I have a Christina in my life.

At first glance you wouldn’t see how we could ever end up being so close. I am fire and she is ice. I am bubbly, she’s more serious. We are different culturally, physically, academically, and even in our professional interests. But somehow, there is something that draws us together. And she is my person.

Very rarely have I ever found a show as to which my life was so comparable to. And watching that moment during the last scene between those two women, it struck me. In fact, it stopped me dead in my tracks, because it made me realize the power of friendship- and unexpected ones at that.

My Christina will be moving in June, with her fiance, and will be across the country. It’s safe to say we’ve been through it all together these past two years. We’ve suffered heartache, heinous bosses, love, what we thought was love, sheer joy, drunken stumbles, family issues, phonecalls where one was sobbing so hard she couldn’t speak. We’ve shared countless martinis and loaded nachos, enough advice to fill volumes of books, hugs, and a shoulder to lean on when we were just too tired to keep going at it alone. We took on the role that sisters do, and laughed at everyone in our wake who would stop and stare at this seemingly opposite pair.

This last scene with Meredith and Christina standing together, after everything they had just been through, made me realize just how much “My Christina” means to me. And how its going to hurt like hell with her gone. But despite her leaving in June, I know that she and I will always be close, and only a phone call away. It’s with this thought that I can look back on email exchanges such as this one, after I’d seen an episode earlier in the season, and know that what we have is the real thing:

To: “My Christina”

From: Blogging Barbie

My Christina,

While I can’t exactly find the words that can truly express my feelings, i want you to know this…

I know that greys is just a TV show, and we joke that we are Christina & Meredith, and that we are each other’s person. But when the truth comes down to it, the type of friendship they have, we just…get it.

I won’t go into how many times I “lost it” last night watching the episode, or spoil anything for you if you haven’t seen it. But I just felt the need to share with you, after watching last night, it just hit me. The twists and turns…the differences…the life experiences while not the same, seem to parallel each other in ways that don’t seem possible. It’s an innate understanding between the two of us how our lives are intertwined and in some sort of reality, mirror whats on the screen. I’m not saying its the same, but…you just….understand it.

So, thank you…from the bottom of my heart, for being my person.

Love Always,

Your Meredith

…….

To: Blogging Barbie

From: My Christina
I haven’t seen the episode yet (oh the joys of DVR) but now I can’t wait!

I agree, it’s rather eerie sometimes. I know we don’t need to talk on the phone or see other other all of the time but we know each other. Believe me, when I first met you, I didn’t quite understand how we’d ever get along- we seemed so different. But we make it work. Watching Grey’s give me some sort of validation, that it’s not in my head and people do have relationships like ours.

Your my person too, Blogging Barbie. I know fiance cannot even fathom how we work but I’m sure he’s given up a long time ago. Or perhaps that’s why he watches Grey’s with me.

Have a safe trip to Baltimore this weekend, see you next week (club night next Sat, don’t forget!).

Love,

Your Christina

While this blog is anonymous, she knows about it. In fact, she was a huge supporter in my actually taking on “Project Literary Barbie.” I know that life will continue to give us ups and downs, but across the miles we will be there for each other. While I’ve tried my hardest to convey this bond and friendship we have in this post, I know that in the end, her and I will be the only ones to understand. And thats OK.

So, My Christina, this post is for you. Because I love you so much, and am going to miss you even more. You’ve taught me more than I could have ever dreamed, and am so thankful to have you in my life as a friend, as a mentor and a sister of sorts. I wish you nothing but the best, and through it all, no matter what, know that we will always be each other’s person.