A Best Friend Reunion 7 Years in the Making

Seven Years Apart — Finally Having Our Reunion

My best friend Mallory and I met in college when we were 17 or 18, and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s moved from in BC to Saskatchewan, while I’ve stayed here in Ontario. Thank God for phones and technology. We talk every day through text and social media, and we finally sat down for a real, in-person conversation. It was precisely what we both needed, and I’m so grateful that she made the trip.

Long-Distance Friendship Through Letters & Life Changes

We haven’t seen each other face-to-face in 7 years! Since Kaiden and Henry were almost 1 year old, I went out to visit her in BC. It’s wild because we’ve been through so many life experiences, and we haven’t really seen each other during most of those. This was the first time she’d ever met Eli, and it hit me—oh damn, we’ve missed out on a lot.

Settling In — Dinner, Chatting, and Catching Up

She flew in Wednesday evening, and it worked out perfectly because I was already in the city for work, so picking her up was easy. I picked her up, and we came home for dinner. My mom was with the boys, and Andrew was home too. We ate a roast dinner, then we stayed up talking until far too late, but definitely until midnight.

A Perfect Thursday — The Barn, Noah, and Heart-to-Hearts

We had a very low-key chill day. We went to the barn on Thursday because she also rides and loves horses. It’s been a long, hot minute since she’s seen me a ride (probably since college!!?). She got to meet Noah (whom she only sees in pictures) and the rest of the barn crew. It was actually a good barn day to meet people; there were a bunch of people there who typically don’t show up on Thursdays, and she got to meet them. We went out for a nice lunch and just sat and chatted for a good couple of hours. We had a big heart-to-heart and got through the nitty-gritty details I’d missed, and she’d missed.

Surprisingly, we were home in time for me to pick up the boys, so we walked to pick them up and let them play for a little bit while we talked on the playground. I didn’t feel like making dinner, and Kaiden (taking “advantage” of having a guest) suggested sushi for dinner. We ordered some takeout and just sat around chatting some more. Honestly, it feels like that’s all we did, but when you have 7 years of talking to catch up on you, and a short amount of time to fit it in… that’s what you’re going to do!

Friday in Toronto — Union Station to The Well

Friday was also another low-key day. We planned to go to Toronto, so we took the GO train down to Union and spent the day basically around Front Street. I have no idea how we ended up more north of Front Street and walking back down to Front Street through the Entertainment District. It was a beautiful day for November, so walking was actually lovely. We went to The Well and walked around all the stores. MUJI was a highlight. I haven’t been to one in a while. There were a lot of cute local artisan shops (hard to resist!), and Indigo was lovely now that all the Christmas stuff was out.

We walked to the Stackt Market, which was all right. I expect there to be more happening. They were setting up the Christmas displays, so there were sections that were “closed off”, and there were a couple of cute little stores, but the bookstore that I really wanted to check out is no longer there now that they have their storefront. I don’t know if I’d go back. There’s not much there to warrant the trip from Oakville.

Grabbing dinner in the Wellington Market food court was really good. So much choice! We knew that we needed to eat something significant and filling before our evening appointment, so we grabbed some Chinese food and dessert. If you worked close to there, there’s so much choice! Eating lunch there daily wouldn’t get boring.

Best Friend Tattoos — 15 Years in the Making

We finally did something we’ve been talking about for years!! We made an appointment to get some best friend tattoos!!! After talking about it for like 15-20 years, since we started getting tattoos. Funnily enough, we’ve gone with each other to get individual tattoos on two separate occasions, but this is the first time we’ve both gone under the needle.

The tattoo artist is locally based in Oakville (and one of the moms at the boys’ school), so that was a lot of fun. Just chit-chatted and had a good time. We got cute little matching Soot Sprites on our ankles. We got them on the same ankles with slightly different positioning. Both of us also decided to pick another piece of flash, so she got a cute Ghostface tattoo, and I got a pretty Capricorn mandala.

I wasn’t thinking about it, so now I can’t go in the hot tub for a couple of weeks, but I will survive. I love tattoos, and this should keep me going for the next 2 years. Every 2 years, I get the urge for a tattoo, so now I know someone super local, which is a huge win!

The Royal Winter Fair — Nostalgia at Its Best

The Royal Time! She hasn’t been to the Royal since we went during school, so it’s been at least 20 years (yikes). I feel guilty because we didn’t check out any of the animal exhibits or areas; we just stuck to the shopping section! We did attend the evening horse show, and that was a ton of fun. It was perfect; it was exactly what we wanted and exactly what we needed. We both found some great deals and got lots of items for presents, for ourselves, or for the kids. The show was challenging, although it did make for a late night, we got home around 11.45pm after the show and the Go Train ride home.

Best Friend Goodbyes (Too Soon)

And all too soon it was time for her to head home! We were up by 6:00 am to drop her off at the airport, with lots of hugs and good-byes, and plans for the kids to come with her next time. We are already planning to do all the tourist things with the boys when she comes one summer. Unfortunately, her flight was delayed, and she didn’t leave until 11:00 am. We could have grabbed breakfast together!

Why Friendship Like This Is Everything

This whole trip was like no time had passed. We were still just our silly goofy selves, a little bit older, a little bit wiser. But fundamentally still the same. Able to talk about all the things with no judgment, and silly little jokes. It was perfect, and I’m so blessed and so happy that Andrew was able to work a little bit closer to home that week. He was nursing a sore neck, so he was at home more than usual. He stepped up, so I didn’t have to worry about the kids, dinners, and all that, and it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Best Friends Forever

She’s my ride-or-die, my best friend, and I can’t wait until I see her again and meet her kids!

J x