Everyone Needs a Best Friend

Hello, Blog Nation! National Best Friends Day is being celebrated this week. In this life, everyone needs a best friend. Someone you can depend on no matter what, someone who you can tell your thoughts to, and someone who will keep it real with you when they see you wildin’ out in hopes of getting you back on track.

My best friend is my sister, Peggy! Peggy and I share a special bond. As I mention in my book, I’m Ok with Myself, I was the last sibling to enter the “Super Cooper” fold, and Peggy desperately wanted me to be a girl. She was outnumbered by four brothers, which kept her on her toes.

As fate would have it, I was a girl, and she took the job of big sister very seriously. While on my life journey, Peggy became more than a sister- she became my best friend. She would advocate for me to my mom when I was potentially going to get into trouble. This earned her the nickname “The Middleman”.

As I grew, Peggy started teaching me how to ramp up my beauty game. I’m talking about everything from hair, makeup, to clothes. She still does that to this day! When I see her coming towards me with the powder puff, I try to roll out and escape, but she always tracks me down to beautify me.

Peggy has been beside me through every situation. She celebrates the good ones with me, and when the difficult times come along, I can always count on her. We have always been able to put our heads together and figure out how to make things better.

My mom was adamant that Peggy and I remain close. She would always say, “No matter what Shari does in this life, Peggy, you stay with her.” That message is engraved in our minds and always will be.

One of my favorite songs is, You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King, sung by James Taylor. The lyrics say: “You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running, to see you again. Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, all you have to do is call, and I’ll be there, you’ve got a friend.” That truly sums up my and Peggy’s relationship!

I truly hope you have a best friend of your own to call on, just like my favorite sister Peggy.