My Oldest Friend

I've already introduced you to my Dad's "oldest" friend.

Now, let me introduce you to mine.

I've known Cassie since she's was born. I would say since I was born, but that would be lying - she's six months younger than me. We were crib buddies in the nursery at church - Prairie Creek's very own chapel babies.

In sixth grade we were the only girls in Sunday School. Sixth grade in the youth group is brutal enough. No one should ever have to go at it alone, so we stuck together like two peas-in-a-pod. We would warn each other when we were going to be out of town, so the other could prepare to go at it one-on-one with Mrs. Mezick.

My mom has a picture of Cassie and I when we couldn't have been older than five years old. It's one of my favorites from my childhood because Cassie and I are standing in my Mom's green, orange and yellow kitchen, in front of the wood utility room door grinning from ear to ear and proudly wearing every article of dress-up clothes that I owned.

Fifty layers of dresses and lace, a dozen necklaces and beads, all of my grandmother's old clip-on earrings, and two hats . . . each. It's priceless.

Cassie got married this month, and last month Mom and I helped through her a bridal shower.
Wedding showers with Prairie Creek friends are always a little bit of a flash back from the past for me, because chances are I have some sort of history with every woman in the room.
I've probably had someone has a Sunday school teacher, GA leader, Praiseluia choir leader, or youth mission trip chaperon. And if none of those fit the bill then chances are . . . gulp . . . they changed my diapers or I changed their kids' diapers. Prairie Creek's just one big happy family.

For example, this is Naomi. When I was 11 years old her mom entrusted me to baby-sit her when she was just months old. It was my first baby-sitting gig, and apparently I didn't ruin her too much on those Saturday nights because next month she's going to be the lead in "My Fair Lady" with the Plano Children's Theater.
Here's all the hostess from Cassie's shower:
And, we can never leave without taking an updated "Cassie & Laura" picture to go next to the dress-up picture. Only this time we're wearing a normal amount of clothes.