I passed the colorless house across the cul de sac every day on the way to and from school. The “for sale” sign was just one with the yard now.  It hadn’t been looked at for years. That was, until the day I heard we had new neighbors, and a bolt of excitement filled my body.
My mom told me there were two kids, and that intrigued me. I loved kids, and we didn’t have many in our neighborhood. A few weeks went by and my brother told me the neighbor approached him asking if his sister babysitted. I was elated!
I walked over to the house next door five years that I've never been more than 50 yards away from in the 5 years of living there. I payed attention to the new yardwork, the old bench, and the new plants planted along the walkway to the front door. I walked up the stairs, rang the doorbell, and waited nervously. A new face welcomed me with a smile and invited me inside. I looked around the large foyer and she told me the new things she did with the place.
“It looks very nice”, I said politely.
She introduced herself as Emily. Just Emily. She asked me questions and I remained formal, not knowing she would become one of my closest friends. I would be her first babysitter, and it was evident the interviewing process wasn’t something she prepared for. I took things into my own hands and told her about my hobbies and what I was involved in.  I was then greeted with a big hug from five year old Ava and a smile from 2 year old Roger, and I knew I was in for a lot of fun!
  My interaction with Emily started off as 2-4 hours babysitting about once a week and progressed into staying after to talk. I listened to her, I acquired from her. She was accessible and unburdened. She told me about her divorce and her job, and her college years and her experiences. Everything she said captivated me.  She was honest, and real, and the most witty person I had ever encountered.  Before Emily, I never knew how important school is, how important  forgiveness is , and how important it is to find yourself.
When I first met Emily, I was having a hard time finding myself. I’ve never had a much of a relationship with my mom, so to have a figure like Emily in my life  was cutting-edge to me. She understood me, both my good and bad days, and set me into place. She was like a personalized search engine, always there to supply me answers any time of the day.  She corrected me when I was wrong, and sent me in the right direction. It was a 15 year difference, that seemed less than a 5 year one. She taught me from her experiences and her wisdom and what she learned from her teenage years. I was proud of her and I introduced her to everyone important in my life, my bestfriend, my boyfriend at the time, and my parents.
Our relationship grew like a flash. We laughed together, and cried together, and learned from each other.
This relationship was more than important to me. She broke the rules of a 35 year old mother and was genuine to herself.  She didn't set up a barrier of time between us, she treated me like I was a 17 year old instead of a little kid. Her devotion and care  towards me meant more than anything I could ever conceptualize. What I learned from Emily could not be found in any book, on any website or in any classroom. The lessons I derived from her were lessons that helped me find myself, and create a path for my future. Emily wasn’t just the neighbor next door.  She was my mentor, my teacher, and my best friend.