Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: 8tracks, awesomeness, discomfort, friends, happiness, honesty, life without facebook, mix, playlist, Rachel Socolow
If you know me, you know very well that I am prone to fucking up in no small way.
This time, I forgot my best friend’s birthday.
I have no excuses. I was aware that it was near, but on April 23rd, I downright forgot.
To make matters worse, Rachel is known for having shitty birthdays. Every year, April 23rd seems to be worse than the average day. Friends and idiots forget her, gifts are no better than garbage cans, and Rachel cries “Good Ghandi!” in her own pain and frustration.
It’s not fair. Because Rachel is one of the few people in this world that I could trust with my life. She’s half my size, and if I were dying on some mountain pass in the woods, she would find me, save me and play the guitar at my bedside until I recovered. She is just that kind of girl.
I haven’t know Rachel on a personal level for very long. But my first memory of Rachel comes from Girl Scout Camp– Camp Machagamee (more like Camp Throw-Me-A-Match-And-Light-Me-On-Fire-This-Sucks). ANYWAY, at age ten, she was already sharing her wisdom with all the other girls. We called her Turtle. I thought she was strange but very, very cool. Luckily, years later, we reunited in physics class and have gone out to eat breakfast together ever since.
Rachel is thoughtful, creative, introspective and one of the most caring people I know. I’m not one to dole out compliments like Halloween candy, so I mean it when I say the girl is great. Without her, I wouldn’t know and enjoy bluegrass, Westford House of Pizza, March Haiku-a-days (a month-long holiday celebrating the art of haiku), or group drawings. Rachel has helped me through an exhausting number of problems (when I wanted to decide if I should stay in Westford for the summer or go to Falmouth, she said to me, point blank “Mac, throw out the pro/con list.”) She supports me emotionally, but she also supports me wacky interests, dreams, and other pursuits, like writing, mix cds, and pointless car rides. Yet Rachel will also be the first to put me in my place (when Rachel told me she was disappointed in my last minute bagging out on an adventure/job for the Villanovan, I had guilt seeping out of my every pore.) She is the world’s best friend. She will stop anything to help you and she always follows through.
So how could I not feel guilty-as-hell when I realized, after texting her about a hockey game, that I completely forgot about her birthday!?!? I knew she was expecting me to remember, too. Even when Rachel told me not to worry about it, I remained frustrated. I feel stupid.
But I have pledged to myself that I will make it up to her. I have a few surprises up my sleeve. This blog post doesn’t even scratch the surface (I almost feel as if this is the obligatory apology/blog post/”Oh fuck, oh fuck, OH FUCK” moment.)
Chicken, mark my words: your birthday will be celebrated. (Belatedly, but in a much better way than you could’ve anticipated.)
I make Rachel mix cds frequently, though not as often as I’d like. But every gift includes one. This is the mix I made for you, Rachel. I don’t know why I decided to title it “Understanding the difference between Want and Need,” but at the time, it made sense. I hope you, and all your friends in Beverly, love it. It took me a while to make. It is eclectic, I can promise that much.
I’ll send you a hard copy when I have a chance.
Thank you for always being a fantastic, loving, pee-your-pants-funny, one-of-a-kind, no-bullshit best friend. Life would not be the same without you. I only hope that I can make up my “I forgot” moment in a meaningful way.
With love,
Katie Mac
Understanding the Difference Between Want and Need … this stinkin’ thing won’t embed. So click on the link.
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