Last night the Chef and I had dinner with Dr. Sally, one of my childhood friends who was visiting San Francisco with her husband and college-bound son. Dr. Sally and I grew up next door to each other in Wisconsin. We decided that we've probably known each other since she was two years old and I was only one. Does that count as the start of a friendship? We have unique conversations that begin "Remember that time we hid in the closet from your brother?"
Dr. Sally and her husband are surgeons in a small town in Washington. Surgeons! That means that someone that I spent time with chasing around the backyard, climbing trees, collecting bugs, picking raspberries, riding ponies and singing along to The Jackson Five now operates on people and saves their lives. Sally and I joyfully reconnected around five years ago, but it was the first time we met her husband and her son. The Chef and I were immediately quite taken with both of them. We love the Dr. Sally family!
When we were in middle school, the future Dr. Sally was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and went through the whole horrible roller coaster of treatment. I remember when she explained to me how painful it was to get a spinal tap and being completely in awe of her strength and bravery. That whole period of our friendship seems foggy as it was so stunningly awful and scary that it just left me bewildered. Shortly after that her family moved to Oregon and we lost touch with each other. Her experience with beating cancer when she was young encouraged her to become a doctor and now she specializes in breast cancer surgeries.
I find it amazing that Dr. Sally is still much like she was when we were kids. She is independent, smart, determined and brave. She has a nice laugh too. When I look at her I can see her doctor side and her ten-year-old self in there! I'm so happy that we got back in touch with each other and are able to spend hours discussing Donny Osmond and neighborhood kick-the-can games.
