Sometimes I want to gather all my friends in a room, look at all of them, and just sit in wonderment over how lucky I am.
I don't mean to bust on your friends, but I think my friends are cooler than anyone else's.
And I don't mean to name-drop, but my very first friend, Cathy, is still one of the most important people to me today. She was born three months after I was and lived seven houses down from me. So we were basically raised as sisters.
Now how many people are still best friends with their first friends? And how many actually know who their first friend was?
Exactly.
And the rest of my childhood friends still bless me with their presence and give me continual love and support. See how lucky I am?
When I moved to Portland, I somehow ended up in a time when all the stars were perfectly aligned in my favor. I met so many people who qualify in different ways as a perfect friend. While the love from Kelly and Ansley continues to take many forms, you can be most grateful that they convinced me to try on the Long and Lean jeans from The Gap. What a joyous day for my booty...
And my friend, Tracey, kept me from walking out of my job and now keeps me from walking home from the airport.
Although many of my friends are still in Portland, most of my P-Town loves have left. [I guess chances are that you're one of them.] Even though I've left too, I still feel as if my connection is just as strong now as it was when I lived there. In some cases, the distance has allowed my friendships to grow stronger.
I'm one of the lucky ones. My friends from my whole life are now in so many places all over the world and yet they still keep in touch with me. Blogs, emails, and cell phones have helped me keep this huge, loving circle of support. Somehow I keep meeting and collecting more and more wonderful people. And as a bonus, I also get to be friends with everyone in my family.
Sometimes I fear I'll max out. Can anyone really be as lucky as I to have so many friends?
I've been so blessed with a wonderful life and with so many incredible people who have explored parts of my journey with me. There are vivid moments I can see in my memory that ring true the words my mother has repeated since I was very little: friends last longer than boyfriends.
I've had friends hold my hand through times when I thought I couldn't go on. I've had friends who wouldn't leave me alone when I thought it would be best for me. I even have one friend who saved my life.
So thank YOU for helping keep me sane (a challenge the gods are still trying to figure out) and for listening to me even when I have no idea what I'm talking about (which tends to be most of the time). I have no idea where I'd be without any and every one of you.
Sometimes when I think of all the blessings in my life I feel as if I'm secretly God's favorite.