Promises (originally written 12/09)

Promises, promises…

How many times have you heard…

“We’ll do lunch!”
And thought yeah sure.

Or “Of course I’ll call you!”
And they never do.

My favorite, “It’s all right there in black and white!”
And you missed the fine print.

But when eleven 13 year old girls and one 13 year old boy pinky-promises to do something, then by God, that’s iron clad.

Three years ago when Jena “moved up” to Heaven, these girls, and Mike, got me up and out of bed before noon by asking me to join them for lunch just weeks after Jena’s funeral.

“The Milton Girls plus Mike” have known Jena since her pre-school days and in their heartbreak, they wanted to meet me for lunch. In my depressed state of mind, I still questioned if it was such a good idea to meet; and even contemplated would I be a bad role model if I just ordered wine for lunch?

But these kids were amazing, and it was no wonder why they were Jena’s friends. I skipped the wine (and food for that matter) and filled up on love instead.  That afternoon was all about tears, hugs and stories about Jena.  It ended with a pinky-promise that on every December 28th we’d meet for lunch-no matter what. That promise alone showed me what love can conquer. 

If there is anything in life I’m sure of, is that these girls (and Mike) will forever be locked in my heart.  And we will spend every December 28th together.

This year we spent the entire FABULOUS day together in NYC.

We caught up with who got their license, what colleges they are applying to and who broke whose heart.  They have very busy lives, as do I, but we made a pinky-promise to make time for each other once a year. It’s our ‘Pinky-Promise Lunch’ and I’ll put it up against any contract, any day.

Made any pinky-promises lately?