Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Happy National Lobster Day!




Happy National Lobster Day!!!! Who knew? 6/15 is National Lobster Day and I can't help but think of my two best friends, Liz and Nicole. This picture was taken on Nicole's 21st birthday in Atlantic City - an awesome night none of us will ever forget.



I had plans to hang out with my friends Kayleigh and Brianna this Friday and then I was going to head down to South Jersey Saturday morning. A change of plans popped up when I talked to Nicole, who now lives in Ohio, and she told me she would be home in South Jersey this weekend. She’s driving home to surprise her family for Father’s Day and her dad’s birthday. She’s doing family things (her dad’s birthday party) Saturday night and Sunday but will be free Friday night if I wanted to hang out. I felt bad cancelling my plans with Kay and Bri but they understood immediately.



Liz now lives outside of Baltimore, MD and Nicole by Cincinnati, OH. I’ve known these two since 1999 and I’m so lucky to still call them my best friends 11 years later. Although we don’t get to see each other nearly as much as we’d like, we clearly jumped at the opportunity to all get together this Friday. We don’t even have big plans – it’s very possible that we’ll end up sitting in Nicole’s backyard with some drinks, just hanging out like old times – and the best part is that we all love that idea. We don’t need to go out and spend all this money, the most important thing is that we’re actually going to get to spend some time together.



Let me explain the lobster reference for anyone who may not know. Before we all left for college in 2004, I became very scared/nervous/anxious about all of my friendships. I had a very strong friendship circle all throughout high school and I was not ready to lose that as we all went off to college. I’ve always been obsessed with the TV show, Friends, and I remember watching it one night when “The One With The Prom Video” came on. I had seen it before, but it never really struck me. There’s a part where Phoebe is explaining to Ross that Rachel is his lobster. Here’s how it goes:



Phoebe: Hang in there, it's gonna happen.
Ross: What? Okay, now how do you know that?
Phoebe: Because she's your lobster.
Chandler: Oh, she's goin' somewhere.
Phoebe: Come on, you guys. It's a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You know what? You can actually see old lobster couples walkin' around their tank, you know, holding claws like...



At the very end of the episode, Rachel kisses Ross and Phoebe yells “He’s her lobster!”



This might sound lame to some people but it immediately reminded me of my group of friends. Although we’re not technically “mating,” I am definitely in love with them in a way. From then on, I called them my lobsters and it’s been our thing. Some people may have come and gone but it’s always been the three of us, and from the looks of it, it always will be. No distance (NJ vs. OH vs. MD) can break us.



So, you see, it’s quite fitting that today is National Lobster Day since I will be seeing both of my lobsters this Friday. =)

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