Unexpected Gifts & A Long Distance Friendship

Today I arrived home after a meeting and running some errands to find a small, rectangular box at my doorstep. Nothing new, I thought. Probably something from a PR firm; a product to review. But upon closer examination of the box, I noticed that it was from a friend in California.

What could it be? I wasn't expecting anything from her.

I quickly opened it, overly excited about my unexpected gift. Here is what was in the box. {Swoon}

A set of mini Starbucks ornaments!!!! OMG! Can I tell you how excited I was???? First, it was a completely unexpected gift (loved that!). Secondly, I've been eyeing up these ornaments for weeks. Every single time I walk into a Starbucks, I pick them up and begin to drool. But I've always put them down...for some reason or another (now I know why!), I have always put them back.

Don't you just love when a friend totally gets you? That is true friendship.

The gift came from my girlfriend Marina. We've known each other since the mid-90's. I went to college with her husband. They were high school sweethearts. Anyway, they moved to California in 1999, and I was crushed. :(

We weren't sure when we'd get to see each other. Holidays? Maybe. Summers? Maybe. But then, as fate would have it, I was sent to southern California by the company for which I worked to do some consulting. After work, we'd go to dinner, shop at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. They would show me the sights. It was just like old times.

But the traveling eventually took its toll on me. Too much time on the road and not enough at home is bound to catch up with you sooner or later.

It's been years since we've seen each other, but we've remained close. With the advent of Facebook and Skype, we've made up for time that we haven't seen each other or time we haven't spent with one another. If we thought we had a ton in common 15 years ago, we now have a gazillion things in common. We are like mirror images living on opposite coasts. We often talk about how our lives would be if we lived in the same town.

We easily pick up where we've left off, and it's always been that way. True friends do that. However long the lull is, you remain great pals. Always. I have several friends who fall into this category, mostly my high school friends.

Distance will never come between true friends. Ever.

Do you have any long-lasting, long distance friendships?