Life Long Friends

I met Kate when we were in the 2nd grade.  We had moved to Boise in the middle of the school year, so I started school at St. Mark's mid year.  Kate & I became fast friends & did everything together.  We played at each other's houses, swam at her grandparent's pool & her family even introduced me to the world of camping.  We had so much fun together & I was very sad when we moved again just 1 1/2 short years later.

Kate & I kept in touch after we moved away.  Writing each other letters & taking turns visiting one another.  Kate remembers when she came to visit me in Illinois one Easter.  She got one of her outfits dirty so my mom offered to wash it it for her.  She says my mom shrunk it & ruined her brand new outfit forever!  Ha!  But she also fondly remembers, as do I, that my dad bought her a corsage for Easter (like he did for all the Berch girls) and my mom made her one of the best Easter baskets to date.  We had a very special friendship, one that distance could not break.

When I was in 8th grade, I moved back to Boise.  Unfortunately, St. Mark's was full so I had to attend another middle school.  Although we went to different schools & had different friends, we still kept in touch & had fun when we hung out together.

High school brought us back together when we both went to Bishop Kelly.  Again, we each had our own group of friends & played different sports,  but we still loved to hang out together at football games, dances & other activities.

Graduation came & we both decided to go to the University of Idaho.

And wouldn't you know it, we both went through Rush & pledged at the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

We had so much fun during our time at the Gamma Phi house.  We never roomed together but you better believe that had many late night chats in each other's rooms.  We, again, developed different friendships & majored in different fields, but I knew that Kate was always there for me whenever I needed someone to talk to, laugh with, or even cry to.  I loved that we lived together for these 4 years.

Graduation came, some sooner than others.  Ha!  I vividly remember Kate coming to say goodbye to me in her new Hyundai that she bought!  She was going to live in Portland while I was finishing up my internship in Spokane.  Once again, even though we were going to be far apart, I knew that we would still keep in touch.

And we did.  When we both were back in Boise visiting, or at our friend's weddings, it was great to catch up with Kate.  It was always great to see each other & we always left off where we had ended the last time we were together.

After graduation I moved to Las Vegas, one of the only places I could find a job.  I figured that I would live there for a year, gain experience, and then move back to the Pacific Northwest where the rest of my family was.  Well wouldn't you know it, 9 months later I met Marc.  So there I stayed.  Marc & I got engaged in 2003 & I just knew that I wanted Kate to be a part of our special day!

Kate was a reader at our wedding & I was so honored that she was there for me, celebrating this wonderful time in my life!

Soon, Kate met this awesome guy, they fell in love & got married!  Although her wedding was in Boise (and we had already moved to WA), there was NO way that I was going to miss it.  So for the first time, we left the girls, and Marc and I flew to Boise to be there for their special day.  It was a wonderful weekend & I was so happy to be there for my wonderful friend!

Today, Kate & Chase live in OR & we live in WA.  But you better believe, that when I am down visiting my sister or she is passing through, we make time to visit each other.  Just last year the four of us went to Battle in Seattle together & had a blast!

And last weekend, Kate & Chase stayed with us for a night on their way up to Seattle for another Gonzaga basket ball game.  We stayed up way to late catching up.  But I loved it.  Every single second of it.  And I think the boys are developing a little man crush on each other.  Recently, they have started texting one another about sports, getting together, etc.  I love that they have as much fun together as Kate & I do.

Kate--thank you for being the most wonderful friend a girl could ask for!  I know at times we don't talk nearly enough, or email quite as often as we should, but I LOVE that when we do finally get a moment to catch up, we start right back up where we left off the last time we saw each other.  You are such a special person to me & I am so thankful that I have been able to call you FRIEND for the past 20+ years.