It’s hard to overstate the importance of friendship. Friends are the people we choose to love, not the ones we have to love. There are no biological ties, no obligations, just the genuine joy of being around another person. If we’re lucky, these beautiful bonds begin during childhood. As we’re navigating big emotions, hormonal fluctuations, school, and the demands of growing up, our childhood friends act as witnesses and a support system through it all.
As life progresses and becomes harder in adulthood, it can be heartwarming to reflect on those people who made life a little bit lighter. One woman had a chance to do that when she reunited with a long-lost friend from her freshman year of high school.
Air Force veteran and self-proclaimed globetrotter Mika Means recently shared a touching story on Threads and it had the community dabbing their eyes. It started with a pact made between two girls. “Growing up my friend and I used to say if we had a daughter, we would name our daughters after each other,” she wrote. Sadly, these two girls lost touch. “In the 9th grade (1993) her mom picked her up early from school and I never saw her again until yesterday. Her daughter in fact has my middle name. 🥹”
Naturally, the people wanted more from this movie-like story. They had questions and demanded the answers.
“Girl! We need more of a story time than this!” one user wrote in response. “What happened all that time? How did yall cross paths again? Did you have a daughter?!” Thankfully, Mika stuck around to provide an update.
She explained that her friend’s mother left Houston and moved to Oklahoma in a messy divorce. Once they got to Oklahoma, the girl’s mother didn’t allow her to contact anyone from Houston. After high school, Mika went to the military. Her friend doesn’t have social media profiles so Mika assumed she’d never hear from her again. But things changed.
“She ended up moving back to Houston last week and she stopped by my mom’s home yesterday to see if she still lived there and my mom called me to come reconnect,” Mika shared.
People also wondered if Mika had held up her end of the bargain. She explained that she also has a child but he’s a son. Mika also shared that she was so shocked that her friend kept up her end of the deal. With so much time apart and so many life transitions, it really speaks to the depth of the connection they established with each other as teenagers.
Someone wondered Mika if she was as touched by the moment as the people reading were. “Did you cry? I would have cried.”
“Yes indeed,” Mika wrote in response. “I would have been beside myself,” another shared. “That’s love.”
“I’m still stunned,” Mika wrote. “No more what ifs.” We hope Mika and her friend get the chance to make up for lost time.
