Cry, Laugh, Share... FRIENDS

At the risk of sounding like an overly sentimental email forward, I had to write about my friends tonight. With it being summer, I've had more time to spend with my local friends, visit old friends, and welcome out-of-town friends for visits. I don't know what suddenly hit me, but I was thinking about what a great couple of months it's been and it just dawned on me how different my relationship is with each person I've spent time with this summer... all friends, just in different ways. One extra special one I got to visit with was one of my VERY first friends as a child. We had several years where we literally spent at least 3 or 4 days a week with each other. We went through every single school grade together until parting ways to attend college. From then we've only been with each other a handful of times (our weddings, visits home, etc), but I tell ya- this one's special for sure! It's like we have a part of each other's heart (again... I shutter at sounding so sentimental, as I'm usually trying to be a tough girl). haha  But, it's soooo true. We can go months without talking and yet can almost read each other's minds when we eventually are together. We understand each other's strengths, inadequacies, and insecurities, and never have a need to be anything other than completely real with each other. I so wish we lived closer! I cherish her with all my heart. She is the sister I never had!!

Then, there are my local friends (I'm thinking of one in particular) who didn't know me at all growing up, but managed also to impress on my heart. We both migrated south the same year and began as new teachers at the same school (anyone who's been through their first year of teaching knows how important the bonding experience is with other new teachers... mostly because you have little clue as to what the heck you're doing!) haha So, there we were... new teachers, single young women, wanting to change the world one child at a time. Oh, and I forgot to mention the most significant thing we have in common... our OCD brains! Yep, so we found ourselves parked side by side each morning, an hour before everyone else, and pulling out each night, again... dead last at 6:00 pm or so, sometimes later. We spent hours together sharing teaching strategies, funny classroom stories, and brainstorming overly-organized/ cross-referenced/ color-coded classroom management techniques that would only bring us more anxiety and hours of work (but see, this is what OCD people actually love!). ;) Then, before we knew it, stories and schoolwork grew into an "outside-of-school" friendship. We grew to know each other personally in addition to professionally and spent the next eight years sharing wonderful memories like our engagements, weddings, and finally children! Our friendship has evolved with the changes our lives have taken, but our bond remains the same. We still enjoy "school talk" because we are still those dorky teachers at heart with teaching as our first love, but most conversations now revolve around "How is potty training going?" or "So-And-So has a boogey sticking out." :)

Other friends like my work/teacher friends that I enjoyed several years of working with, I have little in common with outside of school, but nevertheless love being with. It's interesting how people can bond so easily when they share a common passion, like educating and caring for children. And aside from that, some of my co-workers are just plain 'ole hysterical and fun to be around!! They're good-hearted people that would do anything for me if I was in a bind. I'm thankful for them!

So, from childhood friends, to friends I didn't meet until adulthood, and future friends to come (like in the nursing home) ;)  ... friends to cry with, laugh with, share with... I cherish them all! It's funny how people come into our lives in different ways, play a completely different role, go through completely different experiences with us, yet still have such a vital impact on us. I'm so thankful for my friends... in every stage of life. They've all brought something different and have helped me grow as a person, as a mother, and as a friend myself. What a blessing to have good friends!