| Most little girls have a best friend growing up. | | | | time and on the playground. One the first day of |
| Sure, they have other friends, but none that quite | | | | school Ava and I exchanged one of the charms |
| compare to their one and only best friend. Do you | | | | on our charm bracelets to that we could |
| remember your childhood best friend? Mine was | | | | remember each other throughout the day. |
| Ava. She lived just three doors down from my | | | | When my family and I left to vacation in California |
| house and we became friends from the day she | | | | later that year I said goodbye to Ava on her |
| moved onto our street. It wasn't until a couple of | | | | front porch. I promised that I would bring her |
| months later, however, that we became best | | | | back something special for our charm bracelets. |
| friends. I remember the day we stepped up our | | | | For some reason, that promise was enough to |
| friendship from 'friends' to 'best friends' because it | | | | make the ten days we were apart - the longest |
| was the day we exchanged charm bracelets with | | | | we'd been separated since we became best |
| each other. | | | | friends - more bearable. As soon as I returned |
| Our charm bracelets were the symbol to us and | | | | from the trip, I rushed over to her house and |
| to all of our other friends that we were two of a | | | | gave her the special charm I had chosen to make |
| kind. We still liked to play with other kids in the | | | | our best friend charm bracelets even more full. |
| neighborhood, but it would always be Ava and I | | | | In the years that followed, Ava and I filled our |
| that ate dinner at each others houses or spent | | | | charm bracelets with so many new charms that |
| the night together on Fridays. Every night before | | | | there came a day when our charm bracelets |
| we parted ways we planned where to meet the | | | | wouldn't fit anything new on them. It was a sad |
| next morning. Our days were filled with hour after | | | | day the day we filled our charm bracelets. It was |
| hour of exploring, playing house, playing with dolls, | | | | an even sadder day when Ava's family moved |
| and having kickball games with our other friends. | | | | far from mine right after we graduated high |
| The summer Ava moved to my neighborhood | | | | school. We separated with the promise to wear |
| and we became best friends we saw each other | | | | our charm bracelets every day until we met |
| every single day. | | | | again. |
| Our charm bracelets were great because they | | | | And though I haven't seen Ava since the day she |
| kept us connected even when we could not | | | | moved and the charm bracelets we shared |
| spend every hour of every day together. At | | | | quickly became a thing of the past, I think every |
| school that fall Ava and I were put in separate | | | | kid should have a best friend and thecharm |
| classes so we could only see each other at lunch | | | | bracelets to prove it. |