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Joanne Ruddle has shared everything with her two best friends - births, deaths, marriages and divorces - but she has never met them.
The 36-year-old Auckland woman has been writing to penpals Joanne McBride in Lurgan, Ireland and Julie Towner in Suffolk, England since she was 12 and is meeting them for the first time next week.
Mrs Ruddle, who works as a freelance photographer, put an advertisement in a magazine called Girlfriends in 1982 asking for a penpal overseas to which her two friends replied.
Since she started writing to the women she has had four children, been married, divorced and re-married.
"It's funny, I was looking back at all the old letters and we used to talk about school, clubbing, boys, now it's more parenting and work and stuff," Mrs Ruddle said. "We've shared all the ups and downs, gone through life together. From teenage-hood, to getting married, to raising a family."
That the women now send emails to each other rather than letters is a another sure sign times have changed.
Mrs Ruddle has kept all her penpals' letters - more than 400 - photos and home videos that they have sent her. She talks to Ms McBride on the phone about five times a year, including on Christmas and New Year.
"I'm a little nervous about meeting them but because we talk so often and I've seen videos and things I feel like I know them already," she said.
Mrs Ruddle said she had a lot in common with her penpals who are both 36, like horses, hiking and photography.
"We're very similar it's quite ironic. Me and Joanne even have the same name."
She has had about 30 penpals over the years but Mrs McBride and Mrs Towner are the only two that have stuck, Mrs Ruddle said.
Her children, aged 11, 10, 8, and 7, have had penpals since they were 6 months old. Mrs Ruddle found them through a penpal website and used to correspond with their parents until her children were able to read and write.
Mrs Ruddle is flying to Dublin next Sunday with her husband David. They will stay with Mrs McBride, her husband Geoff and their three children for a week before flying across to London to stay with Mrs Towner, her husband Scott and their two children.
"I've wanted to visit them for a while but I've never really had the chance. It will be great to see how they live.
"There will be lots of hugs and excitement. I'll take my letters over and reflect on the good old days of writing by hand. It feels so surreal."
Both of Mrs Ruddle's penpals hope to visit her in New Zealand one day.
