Unlike Day 8 where I couldn't think of anyone...I can think of a lot of people who would fit into this category.  Of course, though, one sticks out above the rest.

Jason and I were inseparable for quite a few years.  We never dated - although we did find ourselves in the "Men and Women can never just be friends" dilemma a few times.  We told each other everything.  We had so many inside jokes...we spent so many nights just discussing life and smoking cigarettes while drinking a bottle (or 3) of wine.  We talked a lot about how we would never drift apart.  We talked about how we would always stay friends.  We talked about how Jerry was perfect for me and how every girl he ever dated was absolutely not good enough for him.  He and Jerry got along, too.  I had to push for it a few times - I kind of pushed the issue and made sure that they both knew that they didn't really have a choice but to become friends.

We went through so much together.  It's impossible to list it all here.  I remember countless Dave Matthews Band concerts and trips to King's...boxes and boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese.  I remember our trip to Florida (all 3 of us), which was probably one of the most memorable vacations ever.   I remember when he came to my house after a girl he dated who had become a good friend of his was killed in a horrible car accident.  I remember when we danced at my wedding.  I remember him feeling my belly as Nate practiced karate a few months before he was born.  I remember him coming to see me in the hospital after Nate was born.  I remember a Christmas Eve phone call when he found out he was going to be a father for the first time.  I remember him holding Danika in the hospital after she was born.

I know why we drifted apart - life just got too crazy.  He got married and moved a little farther away . . . not too far but far enough that it's not just across the bridge.  I had 2 more kids and he had another.  It's nothing more than that but it seems like it should be.  It seems like we should have had a big fight or a falling out.  It just didn't seem like it was going to end with us just meaning to call and not picking up the phone.  It has come to that, though.

I'd try to change things but it will never be the same.  It's not possible for us to be as close as we were and that's okay because that's the way it's suppose to be.  I know people come into our lives at different times - Jason was there for me when I really needed him.  I would like to think that I was there for him when he needed me, too.  I'd also think that we would be there for each other if we really needed each other now even though we don't have the day-to-day friendship that we once did.

Okay...that was a little tougher to write than I expected!

Oh...I'm totally going to try to do this later today (Tuesday) because I know EXACTLY what books I want to talk about!