Lynn Pieniazek was my closest friend throughout my childhood. I specifically remember the day she upgraded me from simply “friend” to “best friend forever”–or BFF as we called it back in the 1980s.
It was during lunch one sunny spring day when we were in the second grade.
My mom, as she often did, had slipped a surprise in my lunch–a pack of Big League Chew. My offer to share this newfound treasure with Lynn apparently made an impression on the popular 8-year-old. At the end of the day, when our parents were picking us up from school, she pulled me over to her mom’s car and announced with confidence, “This is Cate. She gets Big League Chew in her lunch. She’s my new best friend.” That was it. I was in!
