BFFs at First Sight: The Lady Date

Posted by Nora | Tuesday November 30, 2010

Chelsea and I met at my favorite dive bar, the kind of place where the smell of stale beer and tater tots punches you in the face as soon as you walk in. We’d been texting and Facebooking for weeks before we finally agreed to meet in person, and we both had a blind-date exit strategy just in case the evening didn’t go as planned.

This isn’t a typical love story: This is the story of my first lady date.

Nora (l.) and the girls

Through each phase of my life I’ve had a fantastic group of girlfriends, whether it’s my army of cousins, the girls I met during my awkward phase in grade school, the college roommates who taught me to funnel a beer in a Cincinnati basement or the amazing girls in New York City who helped me figure out who the heck I am. When I moved back to my hometown of Minneapolis, I found myself in an altogether different phase, one where I kind-of-sort-of didn’t really have any friends who didn’t share my DNA.

While I lacked a brunch buddy, I did have a lovingly meddling mother who took it upon herself to be my social coordinator. Chelsea was hand-picked as the ideal girl for me, and three months later, it’s clear why.

That first night, one beer turned into two pitchers, a plate of nachos, and a full run-down of our romantic histories. Since then, we’ve figured out that we’re the perfect balance for each other.

Nora & Chelsea

I’m tall and Chelsea is normal-sized. I’m blonde and she’s a brunette. I’m loud and she’s thoughtful. I’m impulsive and she’s deliberate. I make jokes and she laughs at them. I think in words and she thinks in pictures. She makes things and I think they’re amazing. I write things and she says she likes them.

The best part (besides having someone who still likes to have sleepovers) is that our union has grown into a full-on circle of friends, and brunch is back on.

How did you meet your new BFF?

by Nora McInerny

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12 Comments

	on December 01, 2010 cathy3087 98 said: Hahaha Lorelei I love the bedazzler story!
	on November 30, 2010 mamaluv STAFF said: Well, I have to agree with the stirrup pants. Between that and bangs poofed a mile high, how could you be cooler? One of my earliest BFFs and I broke up over a certain Scratch 'n Sniff sticker (it was a rootbeer float), and let's just say we're still not on speaking terms. I guess we just weren't meant to be BFFAEAE.
	on November 30, 2010 Käri said: I met my BFF, Rachel, in the third grade. She was the new girl and I told her she could come sit at the desk next to me and my other friends (the cool girls in stirrup pants.) We've seen each other through some of the most awkward, challenging, fun, and rewarding times of our lives, and 17 years later, we're still BFFs :-)
	on November 30, 2010 Nora said: I like BFFAEAE (and ever and ever).
	on November 30, 2010 mamaluv STAFF said: I've just been informed by my daughter that the correct form these days is BFFLE, as in Best Friend For, like, Ever. My friendship with my BFF(LE) had a slow start but once I was in, I was in for life. It might have had something to do with the fact that I married her brother... ;) But the good news is that we're stronger than ever (BFF & me, Mr & me)!
	on November 30, 2010 Lorelei said: I met one of my BFF through a boyfriend. The first night I met her I really liked her and then I found out she had a bedazzler and I was hooked! I broke up with the boy and couldn't figure out a way to stay friends with the girl, but thankfully I ran into her at a concert; we locked eyes and we almost ran into each others arms. Turns out she didn't like the ex either!
	on November 30, 2010 nicole. said: I met my BFFfffFFFF (that's how we do) ON THE FREAKING INTERNET. In 1998, before people really met other people on the internet. We waxed philosophical about local music on the Foxfire Coffee Lounge chat forum, organized Pi(e) night, and fell right into each other's gaps [not a euphemism]. Still BFFffffFFFFs more than 10 years later.
	on November 30, 2010 Nancy Lyons said: This is the sweetest thing, Nora. Mostly because we spend a lot of time waxing on about the great loves of our lives. But we rarely invest the same kind of appreciative energy in those relationships that sustain us in the best and the worst of times. And, because you asked, I met my BFF when she applied for a job. Poor thing. She had no idea.
	on November 30, 2010 india said: GENIUS THIS IS ALL GENIUS. IT'S LIKE WOMENS LIB ALL OVER AGAIN BUT BETTER BECAUSE THIS TIME THERE ARE SLEEPOVERS.
	on November 30, 2010 Nora said: Chelsea's exit strategy was that it was her other friend's birthday party, mine was that I was meeting up with my cousins later...you always need an exit strategy JUST IN CASE! and yeah, we should always approach friendship the way we approach dating. in my case that's eyes closed, heart open and full speed ahead. sometimes it's a disaster, and sometimes it's wonderful.