To Great Friends

I grew up never really feeling like I had a best friend. When I lived in the woods K thru 3rd grade, I had Jonathan 10 minutes down the road. He was great, and we loved building in the woods, but I knew I wasn't his "go to gal." When we went urban in 4th grade and moved to the town of 3500 people, I felt a bit out of place. I did acquire 2 awesome guy buddies, but again, I wasn't the glue that kept our gang of 3 together. This continued into middle school and high school: with great pals (boys AND girls), knowing they were my best friends, but I wasn't theirs. Nobodies' fault, really. I had insecurities and fears which really kept me for making great connections.

Since leaving Bama and coming west, I have made some great friends. For the most part I didn't have family around, I completly relied on them for support during good and the bad times. These friends are as good as it gets! I so appreciate their friendship.

I'll be leaving for Bama in two weeks, and I'll be staying there for about 3 months (just me and my boys). I'll be apart from some awesome people, which has gotten me thinking about what their friendship really means to me.

I dedicate this to my great friends:

• Here's to great friends who listen to my woes at mid-night in a deserted parking lot.
• Here's to great friends who wear my clothes without my knowledge, but always return them laundered and freshly clean.
• Here's to great friends who sing silly songs on balconies with me.
• Here's to great friends who come over daily to watch the Oprah show with me.
• Here's to great friends that bake fresh bread, and share a whole loaf.
• Here's to great friends that send phone texts during the week to see if I'm okay.
• Here's to great friends that take my child on errands (while being 7 months pregnant themselves) so I can get some rest.
• Here's to great friends that take my child during the night so that I can recover from my illness and go to the hospital for an IV.
• Here's to great friends that shop the night away with me.
• Here's to great friends that show me new places, people, things.
• Here's to great friends that lead by example in the art of motherhood.
• Here's to great friends who never judge my disheveled appearance.
• Here's to great friends that let me look through their old bag of clothes, so that I may have some "new" clothes.
• Here's to great friends who cry with me while morning over my child's illness.
• Here's to great friends that open up their front door to my children, and love them as their own.
• Here's to great friends who gossip with me, and shyly enjoy it.
• Here's to great friends that push me run, and share their secrets of success.
• Here's to great friends who compliment my outfit that I fretted over for hours.
• Here's to great friends who feed me and my family dinner.
• Here's to great friends who show the true meaning of Christ's love, by always having a wonderful home environment.
• Here's to great friends who hold one of my children, while I run after the other.
• Here's to great friends who over look my inabilities to cook, clean, and spell--but accept my efforts in all three.
• Here's to great friends that will talk to me for hours at a time, never pushing for me more than I'm willing to give.
• Here's to great friends that open their door to me when I knock at 10 o'clock at night and in tears.
• Here's to great friends that let me peel their back after an amazing sunburn.
• Here's to great friends that meet me at parks almost weekly, so that we may talk and our kids can play.

To my great friends, I love you. I am so grateful for you in my life. You guy are my best friends! (Which gaining best friends in my 20s has been awesome!) Being apart is hard, but I hope that as we continue to make our lives our own, we can stay close.

And if we get stationed in Hawaii, you must come and stay with us!