Best Friends and More

Today is Best Friend Day, with the Facebook connection, you find out about all kind of strange days.  Doughnut day, running day, etc, and I'm all for celebrating them all, especially doughnut day!  But today got me thinking about all the wonderful people I've met through the years.  All the way back to early elementary at Burton Adventist Academy, to now, and even re-meeting some great friends as adults.  


I've been blessed (that was for you Ben ;-)), to have met some really awesome people, who have changed and challenged and loved and cared and held me through my life.  My first best friend was Heather, she and I were inseparable  as girls can be.  We looked enough alike to get people to think we were twins, which I remember thinking was beyond cool.  We lost touch years ago, though I found her recently on fb, when I switched to a public school in 4th grade.  Jennifer came next she and I had our ups and downs but she defiantly changed me for the better.  She was, and still is, a fantastic author, mother, and friend.  My good friends Leslie and Stephanie also challenged me to do better in school, and in other extra curricular things we shared.  Alisha, Byran, Jenny T, and Adam pushed me in the pool, to swim better that is, and we cheered each other through many a meet, whether it was outside in the snow or inside our 'home pool' Hugh Smith.  


As an adult I've had many great friends, Cyndi showed me how persistence pays off.  Erica and Dacia first showed me how caring and loving a friend can be.  Andrea still shows me how you are to love a friend.  Carolyn, Barbara, Leah, Cathy, Elizabeth and the others from playgroup showed me how to be a mom, and how to have fun even with the kids ;-).    Angela, Amy, Carrie, and Stacy showed me it's ok to homeschool, and my kids don't have to be THAT kind of kid!  Stacy showed me how to be a friend, how to care even when I don't, and how to be a wife.  She showed me how to grow outside of what I'm comfortable with, and how to gracefully deal with personality conflicts.


And then there is Sam, I'm lucky to have married my best friend, and I'll share more about that in a few weeks on our anniversary, but suffice it to say he's pretty awesome, and I still love him, even after 13 years of marriage, and 26 years of chilling with him.


I pray you have had many more friends than I, more people loving, holding, challenging, helping, changing you!


--Me