Best Friend

Jared and I have a very favorite friend and his name is Kyle K. He's brilliant, of course. Working on his PhD in Systems Biology at Harvard brilliant. Was that sentence even close to being grammatically correct? I am not ivy league educated. Sorry Mom.

He's busy most of the year, but every once in a while he shows up and surprises us. Like he did last Tuesday when I was driving to class. He followed me from my house and honked. I checked out the rear view mirror to see exactly who it was that I was going to give an angry fist and saw one of the best people to ever come into my life.

Kyle has not had the easiest go of it. He was happily on his way to being engaged to a intelligent and gorgeous woman, the friend who introduced Jared and I, when she found out she had glioblastoma multiforme. Brain cancer. It was so wrong. She was only twenty three. She had just been accepted into a prestigious grad program at UCLA. She knew her perfect match was close to proposing.

I could fill books about Kayla. Such a big life in a little time. I'm not making her larger than life, she just was. Not perfect, but amazing.

She has a beautiful story. They have a beautiful story. It really isn't my place to share it but please know, it was so hard for both of them.

Kyle had a ring and he proposed. She accepted. They were married for one month and one day. This December it will be five years.

Kyle was not defined by this tragedy. Of course events like these change the person you are and the direction your life is going, but you should see him. He is in a program he never thought he'd be in. He is doing amazing things. He's dating a lucky and brilliant girl. I'm pretty sure our favorite friend, very very favorite, is happy.

I didn't get to have one of the conversations that go into the wee hours of the morning with him that I used to love. When you have five minutes to visit a whole town, including your family, that luxury isn't always afforded.

We did get dinner though. It was wonderful even if Jared and I made him sit in the middle so we had equal access and talked over each other the entire time. It's so easy to have too much to say when you see your best friend.

Life gives so much. I know that. I have a perfect, sleepy one year old cuddled up in my lap right now that proves it. It's such a scary and beautiful world. One I'm so, so happy to share with the people I love.

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