Column: A Happy Medium, by Erin Murtaugh

This Sunday, someone very special in my life celebrates a very special day. One of my best friends, Madison Christine Mickelson, turns 18! Madison and I have had a lot of memories during our friendship.

It all started in eighth grade. In Ms. Molly Wilken’s (now Grimmius) English class, we were learning about the child slaves in Africa. One of the things we learned about was ways we could help. We discovered a company that you could knit bears for and send them in. The bears would then be delivered to rescued children.

Madison and I would sit in English together and knit bears. Also, for some reason I don’t remember, we started eating fruit snacks in English together every day, too.

The summer after eighth grade, I was going through some tough times. To my surprise, one day a package showed up in my mailbox, addressed to me. Confused, I opened it up. It was a box of fruit snacks and a card from Madison. Small gestures like that are what make friends so great.

Recently, Madison and I have started to hang out more and more. This year, we had economics together.

One day, I was working on my column during class. Madison asked what I was doing, so I explained to her that I wrote a weekly column for the newspaper. Ever since then, she has read all of my columns. She even got in trouble sometimes for reading the newspaper during class. How fitting is it to dedicate this column to one of my most dedicated readers?

So Madison, here’s to your 18th birthday. I hope it’s filled with laughter and great memories. From screaming the lyrics to “Wasting All These Tears” at the top of our lungs, to having typical girl gossip, to watching scary movies in lawn chairs, you are a great friend, and you deserve the greatest birthday!

Albert Lea resident Erin Murtaugh is a senior at Albert Lea High School. Her column appears every Thursday.