When my family moved back to Findlay from Bryan we had bought a house close to the south side of town.  1010 Stall Drive to be exact.  If nothing else we found that it was easy for our daughter Tess to remember.  “ten ten tall drive.”  We were still working on her S’s.  Still it was a big ranch house with a fenced in back yard for the dog and even a tree with that perfect branch for me to set up a swing for Tess.  Her mother painted her room complete with a tree in the corner for her to sit under and read one of her many books.  Moving to 1010 Stall Drive also brought us something else that we didn’t expect.  It brought us Sara.

Sara was this lively playful little thing that always had a smile on her face.  I don’t remember just how we first met Sara, although I’m sure her mother brought her over to say hello when we moved in.  I do remember that Sara and Tess hit it off immediately as friends, and from that initial greeting, if Sara wasn’t at our house, Tess was at hers.  Between the two of them they had enough energy to light up Findlay and the surrounding areas.  Always running and giggling.  Hatching up schemes on what they were going to do to try to scare us or torment Sara’s sister Kilee or playing with our dog Gabe.  They were inseparable.

Sara lived on the other side of the street from us, two houses west.  They were both told by us and Sara’s parents that they were not allowed to cross the street without having a parent with them.  It wasn’t a busy street at all.  The only traffic were the people coming from their own homes, but still we felt it important to teach them this rule.  They stuck by it.  There was a picture taken by another neighbor of ours that shows the two of them sitting in the grass at the closest cornered their respective property lines having one of their conversations.  They never crossed the street by themselves.  Both of our houses had a large bay window in the front and wasn’t uncommon to be coming home and one was watching the street with eager anticipation waiting for their friend to come home.  There is no doubt that these two were best friends and would be for life.

It’s odd how life can be determined.  For my Tess, life was a little over 5 years.  I’ve told this before, Tess woke up on day and said that she wasn’t feeling good and was taken to the doctors office and was diagnosed with the flu.  Later when things got worse it was determined that she had contracted meningococcal meningitis.  She died about 24 hours later.  After the funeral was over and everybody got back to their lives, I think the hardest thing I saw was when I came home from work driving down Stall Drive and seeing Sara looking out the window waiting for her friend to come home so they could laugh and play together, and not being able to understand why she wasn’t going to do that anymore.

Yesterday I was reminded that this friendship between two five year olds was still very much alive.  Sara was getting married!

When Cindy and I walked in the church, we saw a table that had a number of pictures on it that the bride and groom were remembering those loved ones that were no longer with them, but wanted to include in their special day.  Over on the corner was a large picture of Tess taken at her school.  She had perfect little pig tails that her mother had worked on very diligently that morning complete with a pretty ribbon in each one.  She was wearing a blue checked Winnie The Pooh dress that she loved to make it perfect.  I was shocked and very surprised.  As we entered the sanctuary and found our seats, we looked over the program so we knew whose who.  On the back there was a write up from the bride and groom thanking everyone for coming.  Below it, there was a paragraph stating that the white roses on the alter were in memory of those loved ones who were not with them any more.  Tess had a flower too.

As the music started and the procession began we all rose as Sara and her Dad made their entrance.  She was stunning.  Her dress fit her and her personality to perfection.  Yes, I’ve watched way too many Say Yes To The Dress episodes.  The ceremony was beautiful and once over, the invited guests made their way outside to greet the newly anointed “couple” with bubbles.  As we made our way past the other that had already taken position, I saw Kilee and she gave me a big hug.  She was very busy doing big sister/maid of honor duties of trying to handle the crowd and get them ready for the bride and groom.  She did very well.  After Sara and Luke made their way down the gauntlet of bubbles, she spotted me and came over to give me a hug.  I told her that she was beautiful and that I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.  As we began to make our way to the car, I saw the father of the bride and gave him a manly handshake which turned into a manly hug between two old neighbors.  I told him what a beautiful bride his little girl was and I thanked him for putting the picture of Tess up and remembering her.  He told me that they wouldn’t have had it any other way and that Tess is still a part of their lives.

I was able to make it tp the car before I started crying.

At the reception, we sat with some friends and had a very good dinner.  Tried to carry on conversations over the loud people and music.  Pretty much your typical wedding reception.  As I went to get a refill on our drinks, Sara surprised me by coming up and saying she wanted to get a picture of the two of us.  Her Mom was nearby and did the photography duties.  I told her that she had to send a copy to me so I can have that too.  Luke joined us and told me that everybody in the party were wearing little pick ribbons on their jackets or tucked away conveniently in their dress in honor of Tess.  I was stunned.  As I looked around the reception at the other party all I saw was pink ribbons. It took everything I had not to just break down right there.  I was, and still am, very moved by this show of love.  As we said our goodbyes, I told Sara just how beautiful a bride she was, I hugged Luke with a manly slap on the shoulder.  Thanked Dave and Marty for inviting us and for the remembrance of Tess.  I also found out that Kilee is getting married next April.  Looking forward to getting that invitation too!

Life changes you and your surroundings.  Sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst.  Sometimes you don’t understand why the changes happen at all, but what I was reminded of last night was that a friendship that started over 20 years ago,  that lasted for about a year and a half between two little girls, is still very much alive and well.

Thanks for reading.

Paul