This one's for SB 

Here’s to the friends who don’t require anything of us but force us to be exactly who we are. The friends who love us while accepting the fact that we don’t text back, we agree to things in the moment that we have no desire to do immediately outside of that moment, we don’t always replace the toilet paper in the middle of the night, we eat the last box of mac&cheese, forget everything more easily than Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates & never manage to leave water in the Brita. I've never met anyone as ridiculous as I am and she has broken the scale of insane behavior so many times. You never know what's going to come out of her mouth but you know it's going to be completely out of line and amazing.

I’ve become so enmeshed with this human being. She is the nuttiest person I’ve ever met but also the most loyal, empathetic, and loving person I've ever met. I’ve shared a bedroom with her for 8 months. Not just any 8 months but the 8 months of transitioning to a new home on the other side of the country. The first night she got to LA we were putting her bed together and she screamed at me. I’m not kidding. I didn’t have much experience arguing with friends  (which she later lectured me on the fact that this must mean I don’t have any real friends because real friends fight). Thank you, SB. We were on our way to get tattoos when SB said “you know, sometimes who you are makes me feel like a shitty person”. It’s funny now. It wasn’t then. HAHA she very quickly became a substitute teacher for the role of my mother, father, brother, and all the friends from home I was in need of. We protect each other. We take care of each other. We tell each other when we’re wrong. We tell each other when the outfit looks dumb as hell. She may slam the door and say “what the F is wrong with you bro?”  when she means to say “I hate that I have my period” but When I come home and say “SB. I cant talk about it but.” She just holds me. she just hugs me. when I text her and say “when are you coming home? I don’t want to talk about it.” She says “right now, BB, and I'm bringing us gelato” when I wake up at 6am and lay on her while she's asleep she wiggles her arm out from under me to hug me back. When I cant sleep but she's tired she says “ok what do you wanna do”. I watch her pick out her tonsil stones and she's helped me with hemorrhoid cream directions. The first week we moved in neither of us had jobs and her dumb ass moved out here with approximately 200 dollars; but when I panicked about money she bought us chipotle with her last 20 and said “we’re gonna figure it out”.

She’s Jewish but when I wanted to really dive into a new church and find a community there, she came to the “welcome” classes every Sunday and cried too hard during my baptism to even hold her phone and take a picture. When I was too depressed to help myself she opened my laptop and googled “nanny agencies”, found me a phone number, and wouldn’t get off my bed until I dialed it. She said “you get in your own way. there’s nothing wrong with you. just stop being negative and make it happen.” Its been really hard for me to even pretend to be negative ever since she said that so boldly. She's never pushed me to do anything I don’t want to do but she's always pushed me to be better. Every time I have a crush on somebody she is quick to correct me “No you don’t. You’re just feeling lonely.”. She always knows when I want to talk and when I want her to stop talking. She brings home red velvet cake and naturally scoops extra pistachio ice cream before leaving work because she knows I’m gonna want some. She's the type of friend who is so effortlessly thoughtful. When we were both out here with nothin' but each other and some faith in the fact that we were supposed to be here she said “you know whatever I have you can have. “ and I selfishly responded “yeah, same, just don’t touch my makeup, perfume, or leather jackets.” HA and I can guarantee she has never even opened up my makeup bag. What you see is what you get and I think the world would be a better place if more people were as honest as SB is about who they are.  She's not afraid to cry in public which I think is beautiful. She's not really afraid of anything- except throwing up. When I had a stomach virus she sat outside the bathroom door crying. From going to the ER because we tried to save a crazy kitten from a car engine, to praying together and reading the bible to each other before bed, She’s never let me be bored that’s for sure. She’s taught me a lot. She’s fought for me. She’s made me a better person, a stronger person, an unapologetic version of myself. When I’m with her I feel like I’m alone in the sense that I’m that comfortable with her but with the unshakable feeling that I will never be alone again because this bat shit crazy lady is my sister. This next season of our lives is gonna be a tough one. She's moving a dramatic few miles away and we aren't sharing our room anymore. I'll miss the mornings the most. Sometimes mornings in LA start at 2pm but our days off always start at the same time. We know the plan for the day- get up after noon, make coffee in our favorite mugs, talk about everything, talk about nothing, go to Shakers for more coffee, spend money we have no right to spend, sit on the porch with wine & whatever else porches are made for, and get back in bed to laugh for a couple hours. The power she has to force people to be themselves immediately is as impressive as her ability to be vulnerable and to grow with so much grace and transparency it feels like you've seen God work right in front of you. Our friendship has strengthened my faith.

 At the end of this special chapter in our journey I just wanna say thank you. I would’ve moved home if it weren’t for this. I know God has beautiful things for us coming up. With a Dunkin Donuts finally open in Pasadena we can’t expect anything to ever be disappointing again. Cheers to new beginnings together. Nobody can ever take away our 2017.  We’ll always have this and I’ll always be more whole because of it. I love you, SB.

You’re my favorite adventure.

Love, Your Judy on Duty