Wow who would believe after 31 years.....

I want to introduce you all to my best friend when I was growing up..... Carol..... We lived 3 doors down from each other in Hoon Hay, Christchurch, NZ, & were more like sisters than friends. We told each other our deepest darkest secrets, smoked our first ciggy together!!!!! in the play house my Dad had built for us kids down the back (Carol actually burnt her bum when my Mum suddenly knocked on the door & she sat on her smoke while mine was held over the top of the door, the smoke wafting over my Mum's head) sorry Mum.... our first boyfriends were best mates, we even planned on running away together one night (Mum had heard us planning that little stunt & came into my room just as I was about to jump out the window, told her I was calling my cat & there was Carol under my window making the cat meows) do you remember that one Mum???

We were & probably still are complete opposites, Carol was a true blue *Tomboy* while I was the girly girl but that didn't seem to matter yah know..... Then when I was 15 & Carol was 16 her Mum & her moved to England after her parents broke up & my life kinda fell apart. There was no such things as computers way back then, could not afford phone calls so many letters were written between the two of us. We both loved listening to Pink Floyd (as I still do) & I can still remember the day a letter from her arrived telling me I JUST had to get their new LP (yep even before tapes) *Wish You Were Here*, it had just come out in England & NZ was the next country to get it. I played & played that album to death & just like now whenever I play it (now on CD) it reminds me of Carol, have always said to my Darlin'*this is Carols song*!

So when just after my 16th birthday we moved up to Nelson (cried nearly all the way) & it was around this time Carol also moved & we lost contact. Then out of the blue when I was about 18 she just was *there* on my doorstep, those past 3 years melted away & it was as if I had only seen her yesterday, pure bliss! Carol has always been a *free spirit* nothing seemed to really get her down (although before she moved to England she had involved herself in some pretty heavy *stuff* something that I had always been way toooooo scared to try) & before I knew it that last visit from her was over, she was off to roam more of this world & I never saw her again.

Over the years I have tried to find her, you know the school sites etc you can get onto but never had any luck & if she had married I didn't know her married name. Then two night ago I was on Facebook & suddenly thought to do a search for her...... well what do you know, there she was, well I hoped it was her, so sent her a message & yesterday morning had received a reply...IT WAS HER... Can you feel the huge smile on my face.....

I am gathering by the photos I now have of Carol that she works with our beautiful native Kiwi (last 2 photos) putting transmitters on them as they have become very endangered due to foxes etc that were introduced to our country with the first settlers. The second photo is what happens to your arm after being scratched by one (these gorgeous animals are VERY shy & did you know they lay the biggest eggs in the world for their size). It does not surprise me at all that Carol does this type of work, to her it would be a true labour of love, good grief she just hasn't changed, not at all. I noticed (have not had time yet to *talk* to her, am even a bit worried in case she wont *like* me anymore, boy that's a real childhood thing her & I use to say, what I mean is maybe I am just tooo girly girl for her now) that she has a son & I bet she has brought him up by herself to be a fine man, its just so *her*. OK so after the shit year (sorry Mum) that I feel I have had this is to me like a miracle, a great ending to the year.....

Wishing Miracles for you all....