Mom and I spent Monday night with the Peacock family. It was a fun evening, seeing Andi’s parents again after probably a decade. Michael made a delicious meal of baby back ribs and homemade mac & cheese; Andi’s mom brought the green bean casserole 
The kids were adorable and having a great time with the gifts we brought. Jonah and Maddie got double presents since we had last weekend’s birthday presents plus the presents in the family gift basket. I really should have taken pictures, but I got wrapped up in the moment and forgot.
The Peacock clan has been amazing while mom and I have been here in Tampa. Andi visited me in the hospital. Michael made me a yummy birthday dinner to eat in the hospital. Michael and Andi helped mom move into the apartment. Andi’s gone shopping with us a few times and out to lunch. And, of course, there was last night’s dinner.
Andi and I have known each other since we were 9 year-olds in Mr. Krevis’s (not sure about that spelling) 5th grade class. We remained good friends through middle and high school; I think mainly because of chorus. We sang together for 7 years. We did countless gigs and served as choral officers. Andi as a star and me as backup (which I am totally fine with). Andi can attest to the one time I attempted a solo; I cried and made everyone else cry too. A year or two after high school graduation, I have to admit we drifted apart, going away to separate colleges and finding ourselves. Andi became Andrea and although she kept correcting me, I was never able to take it to heart. I suppose when you’ve called somebody by a certain name since you were 9, it’s a little hard in your 20s to change the habit. I got married at 20, distinguishing myself from my former classmates by settling down early and not really living the “college lifestyle.” I noticed a significant decrease in contact after my marriage from everyone. At the time, I didn’t understand, but looking back, it obvious to me that I didn’t have much in common with my friends who were all still single and dating. Andi sang at my wedding, but we only spoke on and off afterward for a few years. She married and had Jonah, who just turned 7. It took me longer to get pregnant, but in 2005, I had Jacob, who just turned 5. In my opinion, having children (plus the convenience of contact via email) bought us back together and we began to communicate much more frequently.
It was only 6 months after Jacob’s birth when I was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, and Andi (technically, Andrea, but I still couldn’t get it right) was one of the first people to offer help. At that time, Michael worked at Moffitt, which meant nothing to me then. She offered to house me and get me in touch with the cancer center, but I didn’t need Moffitt then because Miami was the place to be. It was for the best because Andi and Michael had their own trials with their second child, Maddie, who is just a few weeks younger than Jacob. Fortunately, Maddie is great today and for a little girl who couldn’t eat, she ate a ton last night! Then came an unexpected surprise – hi, Nathan – and the super convenience of Facebook. So it was easy to tell her when, I became pregnant with my second child, and if you’ve been following my currently situation, you really should know the rest. With this cancer, I needed Moffitt (even though Michael had moved on) and I noticed that Andrea at the end of messages again became Andi. I don’t even know if she realized it, but I did and told Joel almost immediately. It’s such a little thing, but for me, it’s nostalgic and makes me smile because I think it’s clear that I never really got that Andrea thing down. The whole time I’ve been here in Tampa, I know that I’ve exclusively used Andi and not once have I been corrected so perhaps the bond that began at 9 is finally rekindled. Regardless, it’s just good to have a good friend.
Related posts:
I can't comment until I stop crying!!! I love you!!
So sweet! There are only few of these special relationships and it is so great that you two have come back together =) Thank you for sharing.