We'll always have La Costa

This week's Friendship Friday post is about two friends.

I wanted to put R.S. and L.R. in the same post because they are sisters and I've known them both in different ways since we were all too young to remember.

Our parents met in Lamaze class while they were expecting the arrivals of R.S. and myself. They became close and got together often so that we could have play dates and they could talk. We managed to get into mischief every so often, such as stuffing an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet. (I think we're going to get payback from our kids sooner or later.) We grew up as best friends and enjoyed hanging out whenever our families got together. We always had stuff to joke and laugh about. We watched "Punky Brewster" a lot and traded books.

L.R. was born less than a year ahead of my sister so our parents paired them up as friends too. It was nice because we had our own friendships to focus on (instead of having to share one another's attention with a sibling).

Around the time I was in 3rd grade, our families started spending winter vacations in Florida. The first year, we stayed with my grandma while R.S. and L.R. stayed at La Costa, a timeshare in Pompano Beach. We joined them at La Costa the following year and for a few more years after that. We have a lot of funny stories from those family trips, such as Tish (a.k.a. Tush), the "factory," Goo Goo Clusters, pukemobile, Green Rivers, etc. We'd spend most of the day together at the pool or beach and then our families would go out for meals together.

As R.S. and I got older, our lives took us in different directions but we still got together when our families made plans. We'd go to the mall on days off from school or attend important events. We'd also send letters (which is funny because we lived only a few towns over) or call each other. My favorite story is when I was on the phone with her and my dad beeped in to ask my mom to turn on the grill. My mom thought R.S. had asked and we would joke about it each time we called each other.

When we started college, our lives really became separate entities. For a while, it became bothersome to me that we had grown apart so much and I didn't make an effort to stay in touch. After her grandma passed away in 1996, we started talking again like the lapse in communication had ever happened. I don't know if she noticed me distancing myself. That summer, we got together more often during our break from school. When we returned to school in the fall, R.S. got into a terrible car accident over Labor Day weekend. Thankfully someone had rescued her. However, she had to have multiple surgeries to look somewhat like herself again. It didn't stop her from reaching her goals. She took classes through the mail and completed her degree before me, going on to do something she really wanted afterward. I admire her determination and unwillingness to let a traumatic experience get in the way of achieving her dreams.

R.S. and I got engaged and married half a year apart from each other. She and I had our first children 2 weeks apart and our second children 2 months apart. (All boys.) We get together whenever my family and I are in town for a visit and our kids all get along well. I enjoy spending time with her, as well. We don't e-mail as often as we could, but we catch up on Facebook and we know that we can always contact each other whenever we want to catch up.

Moving on to L.R....When we were little, I transferred my sibling rivalry issues onto her and didn't really want much to do with her because she was my friend's baby sister. I'll admit that I was mean to her at times and I totally regret it now. (I treated her like one of my sister's friends and I picked on most of them, as a rite of--big sister--passage.) Aside from that, we were still a part of each others' lives, whether it was through celebrating special occasions or going on vacations together.

When L.R. started college, we started e-mailing a lot and connected as grown-ups. We'd talk about guys, books, TV shows, movies, guys, school, work, and guys. She came to me a lot for dating advice, which I appreciated. Our interest in books became even more similar than the shared interest I had with her sister. Our e-mails were usually pretty short, almost like a chat conversation, but we kept them going and still do.

When L.R. got married in 2008, I took a train to Chicago with my husband and kids so that I could be there for her wedding. It was one of the few I refused to miss. She's now days away from becoming a mom (b'shaah tovah) and I am very excited for her. I know we'll have even more to talk about as a result, if we didn't already. (I felt like I was experiencing her pregnancy vicariously, if that says anything about our connection as friends).

As I said before, my friendships with R.S. and L.R. have taken different paths. I never expected that I'd connect more with the younger sister as we all got older. Oddly enough, I think my sister talks to R.S. more often these days. I'm fond of them both and I appreciate their friendship. I hope our kids will stay friends over time, no matter how many miles there are between them. No matter what path our lives take us in, I know we'll always find a way to stay connected and we'll always have La Costa and the memories of fun (and funny) family trips.