Someone you want to be like.
I didn't have to think long about this. It's my friend Heather. I met Heather Anderson when I was in the 6th grade, she was in 5th (even though I'm only several weeks older than her), at Sawtooth Methodist Church Camp. The next year I went to Jr. High camp so I didn't see her, but we wrote letters. Remember, this was before the internet, social media, well, cell phones! She lived in Idaho Falls, ID, which was 2 hours away, but might as well have been another country.
All throughout Jr. High and High School, we'd meet up for one glorious week in the Idaho Mountains. We would find ourselves at different state events at the same time, and I don't remember how this logistically happened, but I remember spending the night at her house multiple times (she and Judy were the first I ever talked about sex with at one of those sleepovers!)
Then in college, I went to visit her in Washington and she visited me at Boise State. She was my maid of honor in my wedding and I LOVED being at her wedding to Giovanni. I was with her the whole "do I marry a man from Nicaragua?" time and all the drama it took to get him here. They met while her family did a missions trip to Nicaragua and he was their translator/guide person. Her family went multiple times, became close with his family.
From the age of 15 on, I carried a picture of her and Judy (our mutual friend and one of my bridesmaids) in my day planner or wallet. That photo sits on my end table in my living room. It has never left my view. Giovanni always thought that was so weird.
Then I was there when Giovanni got leukemia and died in 2013. It was awful. But this woman, with three young kids, was so strong and carried on. It had to have been SO hard. She has a great support system, but still. I can't imagine losing the love of your life, that you fought so hard for.
Fast forward a few years and Travis said, "you're not going to believe who I saw this weekend?" He was at a fund raiser for Reel Recovery. Heather. She was there with one of his fishing buddies, Johnny. They were dating. He told Johnny about our history and we all just about died. She married Johnny in 2019 and I also loved being at that wedding. For someone so special like Heather to get TWO true loves is amazing. She's deserving.
I've shown up in her town (she still lives in Idaho Falls) and said, "meet me in 20 min", I've shown up at her family's Thanksgiving at her sister's house in Colorado Springs. If I had a daughter, I would have named her Emma Renae. She's there to give me medical advice when I need it.
She's now the mom and step-mom of 6 kids, has a sweet grandbaby, runs a farm with goats, chickens, cats, dogs, turkeys, cows (who knows what else) and works full time.
She is kind, thoughtful, loving, caring, hilarious, and just one of the greatest humans I know. Her strong faith in God has gotten her through some really hard things, but she hasn't lost her optimism. She is fiercely loyal, and I'm blessed to be on the receiving end of her friendship.
Heather Renae-Castillo Rutledge and I are turning 50 this year. We talked about this recently. I would not have believed that we would have still been friends. I would have wanted it, for sure! She put it best, "I wouldn't change a thing."
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