A Best Friend That Became A Son & Brother

I have always been a firm believer in the mantra 'family first'. I used to believe that family was family and friends were friends and no matter how close you were with your friends  they were never to be placed in the family category.

 All of that changed when I met Josh's friend Boorman. 

Boorman has been friends with Josh since they were about 6. They played on the same soccer team under Boorman's dad. They became best friends when they entered into the fourth grade and shared a class with one of their favorite (and mine too) teachers. They became like brothers at the end of 5th grade and were inseparable by the beginning of 6th grade. Boorman  also befriended Andy and pretty soon Andy and he were just about as tight as Josh and he were 

By the summer of 2014 Boorman was either at my house or my boys were at his house or they were up at Bolich (a middle school in town) playing soccer with their other buddies.Every single day they were together. I sometimes wonder if there were some weeks that summer when Boorman didn't sleep over my house more than he was at his own house. Having him at my house was just like having my own children there. He fit right in. 

And over time, I began to love Boorman as my own son. I still do. He is a great kid. He is polite, respectful, and kind. He is great with my girls. He is protective of my boys. He is loyal. Moving away from Boorman has been harder than I ever imagined. I know that he misses my boys very much. My boys miss him (and his family) very much too. 

Part of me would love to stay in Las Cruces forever. But another part of me cannot wait to leave so that we may perhaps move closer to Boorman and he can visit us. 

I miss seeing his head pop up into my kitchen window, as he would often do, right before he came in through the back door of our old house. I miss his sly little smile when he had been mischievous. I miss hearing his now deep voice calling me mom. I missing hearing the boys argue over who the best soccer player in the world is. I miss hearing them giggle when they came up with something clever and entertaining that only teenage boys would find funny. 

I thought that the ache of missing him would dull over time. It has not. I still miss him as much today as I did the day we moved away. Maybe even more so.

I never knew that I could love someone outside of my own family as much as I love him. The lines of friend and family member have blurred so much with Boorman that I can no longer tell where those lines begin and end. To me, he is just my son. My son from another mother, but my son none-the-less. And I know that his mother thinks of my boys just the same. 

I know that Boorman is a friend for life. No, he is more than that, he is the brother that my boys got to choose as one of their own. And I know that Boorman feels very much the same way. How special is that?

I cannot wait until the day when I can see him on a regular basis again. It will be just like old times. And that is something I very much cherish.