It was the first week in April 1960. I was a shy 5th grader transferring from Market Street Elementary in Boardman to New Middletown Elementary in Springfield Local School District. My parents had moved us to our new house on Sena Lane on April 1st. Entering my new classroom I immediately noticed that everything about me was wrong – my gingham dress with the smocked bodice and a waistband that tied in a wide bow in the back, my anklet socks, my mary jane shoes. I might as well have come from a foreign country, not just 15 miles up the road. Even my hair barrettes were wrong. Carol Slagle O’Hara was my first and immediate friend as a stranger in that classroom – she has always seen below the surface, of everyone. That friendship has remained through 58 years. We shared overnights in each other’s houses and were well acquainted with each other’s immediate and extended families. Through junior high and high school we shared all the highs and lows and secrets. We were maid of honor in each other’s weddings and corresponded when I lived miles away for a time. Her daughters and my sons were close in age and we shared mothering highs and lows and secrets, just like school days. When our parents passed, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas Day dinners together with our husbands and children, sharing many hilarious board game hours around the holiday tables. We were there for each other with our children’s weddings, and once our houses were empty of parenting responsibilities we enjoyed trips to local out-of-the way little towns, and used book sales, and thrift stores, and historic buildings, and antique shops, and a monthly book discussion group. Her move to Wooster separated us again – back to fewer visits and more correspondence. Carol has always known me better than I know myself. She had a gift of insight, and a gentle way of revealing what she saw. I am certain I am not the only one who benefited. Her presence will always be with me, just out of sight but always there. I will always share with her, and I will hear her voice answering in my heart of hearts. It was the first week in April 2018. And one day through the promise and power of my Lord and King we will meet again. The 58-year friendship is not over.