Friendships

A part of genealogy that doesn't necessarily consist of ancestry would be friends.  Friends are the family that you choose.  Sometimes friends become your children's God Parents, or they were their to witness your wedding, and you become aunt or uncle to your friend's children.  They become a special place in your heart.

I have 2 very special people when I think of people who really know me outside of blood kin and other than my spouse.

Rebecca Votteler
I met Rebecca when I was 10 years old.  She moved into my apartment complex in Huntington Beach, CA and attended the same school as me.  She was a grade behind me, but a month older than me.  Her parents were divorced like mine, and she and I had the same babysitter named Dana Kosareff, whom was 17 at the time.  Rebecca was originally from Iowa and moved back where she would spend the remainder of her childhood, living with her father.  We always kept in touch and during summers, if she came out to California, we would always hang out.  I always thought Rebecca was beautiful.  She made me laugh, taught me many things such as latch hooking, weaving plastic keychains, making friendship bracelets and even advice on the psychology of the teenage mind.  Rebecca has always been a very kind friend.  She is great at writing handwritten letters, expressing herself, and loves to cook and bake.  Even though I haven't seen Rebecca in 2 decades, she remains a special person to me and has left an imprint on my heart.  I can honestly say she is one of my truest friends.  More than a friend, Rebecca's like a cousin.  I used to tell people she and I were related because her mother donated blood to my father for his surgery.  One day, she and I will get together again.  Unfortunately, time and circumstances have separated us.

Joseph Schoberg
I met Joey when I was 13.  We lived in the same housing tract in Westminster, CA and attended the same middle school.  Like my best friend Rebecca, he was also a grade behind me, but a month older than me.  I was in 8th grade, and he was in 7th.  A few of my girl friends had a crush on him, but since he was in my neighborhood and they lived on the other side of the bridge (we called it a Catwalk) and his cousin Nicole was my friend, I got to know him better than my friends.  We were both wild children, free spirits, if you will.  We didn't get fabulous grades and spent many days in in-house suspension or detention together.  In high school, Joey became a father and I took a liking to his daughter.  I thought she was so cute, intelligent and beautiful.  Her name is Madelynne.  In 1995, Joey and I spent a lot of time together, and he introduced me to my husband.  They were next door neighbors.  A few times, Joey would be locked out due to not making it home for curfew, so I would stay out with him or I would let him sleep at my house.  I always gave him my bed and I would sleep in the living room.  In 2006, Joey moved in with my husband and I and I got to know more like a brother and less like a friend.  Circumstances have separated us, but no matter where he goes, he always comes back.  He's a great person, and I don't think he realizes his worth as much as much as I do.

Sidenote
Rebecca and Joey are two completely different personalities.  Some things that are similar, which I hadn't realized till I wrote the above, are they are both predominantly German.  Their ancestors were German settlers to Iowa.  They both are born in October of the same year.  They were both a grade behind me.