Dear Tyler,

This letter is to thank you for your friendship. I really have no way of expressing what you have meant to me over the years but you deserve to hear my feeble attempt at least in writing, as I have never been good at telling you in person. Tyler, you have become one of my best friends. I was trying to remember everything from the beginning so I could write it all down but I know I’m forgetting most of it. It all started with meeting you at your mom’s piano recital when I was probably 14 or 15 years old. I thought you were cute. I stopped taking lessons soon after that but always remembered your face and when I resumed lessons around the age of 19, I always secretly hoped I would run into you; but it never happened. Eventually, I moved to Bellingham, WA to start school when I was 20 years old. Sometime after this, I randomly saw that you were the friend of a friend (or something like that) on Facebook. Could this be the SAME guy I met so many years ago? Only one way to find out….and I sent you a hello message. From there, the rest is history. You didn’t know it then, but you were saving my life. It was my first year out of the nest and I was struggling with the desire to be like the rest of my class whose extracurricular activities consisted of partying, bar hopping and sleeping around. I had no one to talk to about this, no one to strengthen my faith…until you came along. I remember spending hours on the phone talking about everything under the sun while I worked on finishing the PTA program and you rounded up the last of your pre-nursing classes. We spoke of our dreams for the future-we had lots of those-, what we liked and did not like, people we knew and eventually, our different faiths. It was at this time I started to really take an interest in what I actually believed. We had so many differences to discuss and I started asking people questions about the Bible and researching topics for myself and I know you did the same. Right before I turned 21, it was finally time to meet in person. That entire day I was nervous….Was this a date? Will we have anything to talk about? What’s going to happen? were all questions running through my head. The evening was spent at El Sombrero’s and ended up being very memorable with me trying your drink and getting caught by the host, who also threatened to call the police if he saw me doing that again. By the time I left the restaurant, I was so embarrassed I thought for sure I would never hear from you again. But I did! And you continued to be one of the best friends a girl could hope for. I moved back to Walla Walla and we started hanging out more; sometimes just us drinking some wine or Mike’s Hard Lemonade secretly as we still didn’t want anyone from our backgrounds knowing that we drank a little, and sometimes meeting up with your friends at a restaurant, usually Applebee’s. I started traveling around for work and would lose touch with you for months at a time but the thing was, I always knew you were there and that the instant I saw you, we could pick up right where we had left off. I’m not sure when but sometime during all this, you lost a bet and were forced to try my favorite thai food restaurant Bangkok 103 with all of Rudy’s delicious cooking. Who knew it would become your best friend food-wise and that you would basically end up supporting their business with the way you frequented it.  Every time I came back home for a visit I always tried to squeeze in a thai dinner with you where we would discuss everything that had happened since the last time, often stories of girlfriends/boyfriends that didn’t work out and consoling ourselves with the fact that if we were still single at 30, we could marry each other. Finally, we had the privilege of living in the same glorious town; Yakima WA. Due to your crazy work schedule, we didn’t get to spend much time together but I have great memories of trying new restaurants out, floating down the River for 4 or 5 hours with our cooler of drinks, sitting out on your porch drinking a new concoction while we watched the sun go down and talked about real estate, bottling up your homemade beer, and not to be forgotten…exploring the off-limits parking garage and running for our lives when we were caught. Eventually, we were both back in Walla Walla where we didn’t see that much of each other but occasionally met up for thai food, went to see an outdoor movie, had drinks with your friends at Applebee’s or you showed up at game night. Around November 2011 I stopped hearing from you and in December I got this text about how you met a girl and you wanted to bring her to the Christmas Party if you came. It didn’t work out to come but the next month you both came to a gingerbread house making party and a few days later we all went out for thai food. Tiffany had found something at Bangkok 103 that she liked, which made her definite marriage material.  By this time you are already enamored with each other and you even turned down a coveted job opportunity in SoCal because somehow, you already know that this girl is something special. A few months later I jokingly ask if you are engaged yet and OMG….you are! The day that you have dreamed of for so long is finally here and I couldn’t be happier for you. I have listened to you talk for years about wanting to be married and all of your perfect proposal plans, and I wanted this day to happen for you almost as much as you did. Of course, it is tinged with sadness as I know things will never quite be the same and I am losing the best guy-friend I have; but not in a million years would I wish it differently. I love you Tyler- the pure, unadulterated kind of love that wants the best for you…and the best has finally happened.




Today’s letter was written by Name: Char
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Written From: Washington