Standing next to Cameron looking up while in the middle of a quiet street, I couldn't help but think about how he and I had grown throughout the years. I find it astonishing that two people who first met as kids on a playground in a small city of Northern California, would be standing next to each other yet again in a not too much bigger city in Northern Colorado. We have quite an enduring friendship.
It was in the 5th grade when we first met. I can't even remember exactly how it happened, but Century Assembly K-8 school in Lodi, California gets the credit for being us together. For me it was my fourth school change in my parents search for a better education for me, while it Cameron went there for nearly all of his elementary years. Despite it being one of the bigger private schools in the area, our Christian private school was rather small, allowing Cameron and I to spend more time playing basketball during recess than we may have had at the overcrowded public schools in our area. It was interesting how even during our first years together, when we were at our youngest, I preferred his company over the others. There was something special about Cameron. But after a couple years of school together, again I transferred schools.
Middle school separated us for a time, but the distance was not too far since I attended a rival school and competed in sports games against him now and then. It was in high school when we were reunited with one another. Again, I was able to enjoy his company, and this time I stayed four years as we graduated in the same class together. While in high school we spent our time creating memories anywhere we could: basketball (as always), football, spring plays, Honors English, sleep overs and birthday parties. We were considered adopted sons in the eyes of the other's parents. It was a delightful time. I must admit now that I wish I would have spent more time with him than I did during high school. Perhaps if I did, I would have been able to convince him to stay in California and go to Azusa Pacific University with me, instead of going elsewhere. But as I write this now, I know it was the absence from one another after high school that allowed our relationship to grow on a more intentional level. It was pain, heartache, success, work, girls, advice, any excuse we could come up with to talk to one another that brought us together. We spent 4 years of college on routes that took us from the same state to opposite ends of the United States, yet here we were again, standing next to each other staring at the diamonds in the sky.
Our lives are separated and in the midst of change at the moment. I'm living the life of a responsible SoCal resident, planning my days of when I'll start my coffee shop and write for the rest of my days. Meanwhile Cameron lives in Colorado, engaged to a wonderful girl, and stepping into the "real world". Its simply crazy how far we've come, still friends and a part of each other's lives. It's a blessing. At his upcoming wedding, I'll be standing nearby in the same spot I pray he'll be standing at my wedding, as the Best Man. I'm not sure what God has in store for the both of us, and I don't know if the plans we've made together will ever come to pass. But one thing I do know, is our friendship will endure.
