We had been friends from the age of four or five, until we finished high school. As I started looking through old pictures, the memories flooded back. Here we are playing with her Uncle Freddie's puppies in her backyard.
We used to ride bikes and play on the swing set. We played in the field and creek at the end of our street. We went sledding there when there was a good snow. We hung out at the elementary school where her father was the janitor. Our families camped and fished together. We swam in the summer and rode the same school bus in the fall.
Everyone called her Little Joyce because my older sister was also named Joyce. As teenagers, we changed her name to Jo. We'd sit in her living room, listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zepplin. I served as one of her bridesmaids. It was at that point that we didn't see each other much anymore. Such is life. People get married and move away and lose touch. I suppose that's the way it needs to be. But I spent more time with these girls than I did with my own sisters. And they'll always hold a special place in my heart.
