From my grade school friend, I learned about bagels with cream cheese and Tang. She has been my best friend since the 5th grade. Even though we do not get a chance to talk often, we automatically pick up where we left off (like we had just talked the day before). Now if she only lived closer (wink, wink). I love seeing pictures of her girls growing up and love seeing pictures of their horses and greyhounds.
College friends are amazing too. One of my college friends and I were inseparable for a quite a few years. She is the one that got me addicted to chocolate cherry cokes. She is the happiest, most positive person I know. She is rarely without a smile and her determination has taken her places that she was told she could never go. We have many stories to tell from our carefree college years and have learned a lot of lessons (all filled with laughter). We spend hours on the phone during the "dark years" when dad was having a lot of medical problems (prior to his cancer diagnosis), mom was going through a messy divorce with husband number two (which lead to her excessive drinking and smoking), and my sister was being tugged back and forth between her dad and my mom. I had even thought about dropping out of college and trying to get custody of my sister at one point, but I managed to make it through my junior year of college instead. Anyway, this friend is amazing and helped me keep my sanity during a very difficult phase of my life.
Two of my college friends and I try to met up every few months. One is local and the other is about a two hour drive. They help me to feel young and carefree again, even though more often than not we have kids in tow. My local college buddy has triplets and the non-local college friend has yet to start a family. We have a grand time together. My local college buddy is very loud (whereas I am quite) and has a good sense of humor. We were talking the other day and she told me that it was a shame that we did not become friends sooner in college because I probably would of helped her stay out of more trouble during her college years. She cracks me up, like I could of stopped her from being herself! I had the honor of holding her triplets as newborns at the hospital. Only family was allowed in the room, so she told them I was her sister. (ha ha ha ha ha) My non-local college friend is a librarian and loves being around kids. Last time she was in town, she crashed at our house for the evening. Pumpkin got to practice his reading skills and read her a book. She does not mind it if we drag her to the library or used book store, which is awesome! My funniest memory with her is when I talked her into placing a lamp shade on her head in college and snapped a picture. No . . . . none of us were drinking (I personal do not drink any alcohol); we were just being goofy to blow off some steam.
I have a lot of amazing parenthood friends. Two really stick out in my mind right now. One has children the same age as mine and the kids love to play together. She is an amazing cheerleader and cheers me up when I am blue. She helps me brain storm about ideas to try with Pumpkin. Her kids have birthdays three days apart, just like mine. When mom and dad were sick, she offered all of the encouragement that she could think of. She send me emails and texts of support and she sent me snail mail to encourage me. She even came to mom's visitation to show her family's support. I am so blessed to call her my friend. Another friend of mine is the most amazing parent ever. She would leap through fire for her children. I have mentioned her family in my blog before. Her oldest daughter is a cancer survivor. Her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia just weeks after starting kindergarten, around the same time that my mom died. My friend's determination, strength, and endurance is beyond words. Through the last three years they have raised two confident, fearless, and beautiful daughters. The youngest is just a few months older than Princess. Even though her daughter has won the battle against cancer, she continues the fight to draw attention to childhood cancer research. It is truly an honor and privilege to have her as a friend and I love her kids dearly!
Oh, and I cannot forget to mention my best friend and number one supporter- my husband. We were friends in college before we started dating. He would help me traipse through the prairie as I did research for my undergrad paper and later for my master's thesis. I needed someone to protect me from snakes and those ugly huge yellow garden spiders (wink, wink). Of course years later, I learned he really did so he could look down my shirt when I bend over (typical guy). He has helped me through a lot of rough days- ups and downs with both of my parents. And of course, he is the handsome dad to my two kiddos.
Well I am definitely long winded this evening. I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!
