My Best Friend

According to Urban Dictionary, "Best friends are very special people in your life. they are the first people you think about when you make plans. They are the first people you go to when you need someone to talk to. You will phone them up just to talk about nothing, or the most important things in your life. When you're sad they will try their hardest to cheer you up. They give the best hugs in the world. They are a shoulder to cry on, because you know that they truly care about you. In most cases, they would take a bullet for you, because it would be too painful to watch you get hurt."

Yesterday was (apparently) National Best Friend Day, or as I affectionately call it "Besties Forevvvvvva Day". I don't really call it that, it's just more fun to say type. In all honesty, I didn't even know that was a day until someone told me. Friend fail, on my part. While I have many friends, only a few earn the title of "best" friend. It's hard to pinpoint ONE best friend, and honestly, who wants to do that? I used to get jealous if someone referred to me and someone else as their "best friend". I think I was weird last week back in middle school. Anyway, as I was saying, I have a couple of friends that I consider to be "best" friends. I'm not going to mention any names, well, except for one.

Emerson.

That's right. My daughter. She's my best friend right now. I say 'right now' because she'll have others that come along to take the place of her "bestie", but for now, the title is mine, ALL mine.  Sure, Trey ranks pretty high up there in terms of being 'my best friend', obviously, along with a few others, but Emerson is unique. She knows me like no one else, quite literally. She is the only one (so far) that has heard my heartbeat from the inner parts of me. She is the only one that has recognized me without having ever seen me. She knows the rhythms of my heartbeat and the sounds of me within. She is the only one that is truly and completely a part of me. None of my other "best friends" can claim that.

Usually, best friends spend a lot of time together, unless they live far apart. They tend to be inseparable when they're together. They look out for one another and they defend each other. They thrive off of one another. Usually, much like a marriage partner, they bring different qualities to the table; qualities that offset each other, yet enhance the relationship. Emerson and I have that. Odd to say, maybe, and you're probably thinking, 'But, Chelsea, she's just a baby'. You are correct, she is just a baby, but she's also SO much more than that. 

Emerson and I have spent every -single- day together since the moment she was born (really since conception, if you want to get technical). I have not left her for more than several hours (I'm working on it--part of that is a completely other story that I'll write about another time).  I don't remember what it's like to be without her.  Yes, some days are long and boring and hard and frustrating, but even in the most mundane moments, she brings me immense joy. Joy like no other friend of mine can provide. One smile can cure an hour of frustration. One little giggle can erase an entire day of tension and tears. I know every detail of her little body. The way her hair curls in one spot on the left side of her head. Or the way her nose wrinkles every time she gets frustrated. I know she loves God's creation, even though she doesn't quite know Him yet.  I adore the way she peeks around the corner when she heres my voice or how she screeches with joy when we tickle this one certain spot.  She listens to me when I'm sad (mostly because she has no choice); sometimes we even cry together-- that happened a lot when she was itty bitty. She laughs with me (or at me). She holds me tight, seemingly never wanting to let me go. She seems to know when a cuddle will make everything alright, if even for just a moment. I stare at pictures of her after she goes to bed at night, even though I have spent the whole day with her. Her life makes mine very worthwhile. Her presence on this Earth has made mine so much more valuable. She will never know the tremendous joy and pain I felt when she first came into my life, both physically and emotionally. And she will never know the heartache I feel when I imagine my life without her. She is my pride and joy, and for now, she is my very best friend.