Emphasis on the (s)

Day 14: a photo of your best friend (s)

This one is going to take a few pics - I have too many and they are from many different times and aspects of my life so I don't have a photo of everyone in one place. I have always said, however, that you have different best friends to help you through different times and in different ways. So...an ode to my wonderful, incredible, I couldn't do it without you friends...

So, first and foremost and much of the reason I will still be grieving when I'm 80, is that when I think of who my best friend is, the first person that pops into my mind is my mom. She was the person that I called when I knew what I needed to hear was that I should get over myself, it wasn't that big of a deal, I could do it because I was more than just a pretty face and that I couldn't let the world get me down, regardless of how bad it might get. Believe me, you need to hear that a lot more often than you think. When I want to lay in bed and cry instead of get up and face the day, I remind myself she would be yelling at me right now :) She was and will forever be my best friend.
Then there is my sister - if you missed Day 10, go there for an explanation of why she is on my list of best friends. My life wouldn't be what it is if she was not on this list.
Next up, my Panama girls. When life gets you down, there is very little that cannot be fixed by laughs with people who love you, some sushi, and a piece of Toll House Pie. And if your friends know which bite of the pie is your favorite, and let you have that bite even when you are eating the pie for their birthday, you can certainly say they are your best friends! I'm going to give an extra special shout out, however, to Allison, who has possibly listened to me talk about my mom enough that she knows her, cooked enough meals with me that she knows where everything is in my kitchen, and lost enough sleep sitting around talking that she has added a few days to her life :) And Kaylinn doesn't bark at her when she comes over...that, ladies and gentlemen is a large compliment in Kaylinn land!

Speaking of people who are paid the high compliment of not being barked at when they visit, we have Ashley (who by the way is going to kill me that this is the picture I put on here of her - it's all I had on my computer!! It just says we need to take more pictures together :) If I need someone to cry with, Ashley is who I am going to call. And if I need someone to distract me from crying, Ashley is who I am going to visit, because you cannot be around her sweet, adorable children and feel sad, that is for sure!

You know the friends who you can call and it never seems like you haven't talked to them in months? Those are good friends. Life is busy and while I wish I talked to people more, when it comes right down to it, I don't. And so, in honor of them, I put up a picture of Rachel and I in Guatemala...yes, that was 6 years ago now, which I know because her little boy, who was the reason we were there turned 6 this week. What? Where has time gone?

Rachel, Lisa, Kathleen, I don't know what I would do without them. People who know where you've been and when you talk to them know the hard questions to ask and how hard they are to answer. They also know when you don't want to talk about the hard questions and instead let you ask them the hard questions. It is rare to find someone that stands up as a friend years after you've lived in the same town....or even state.

And then, there are the people that put up with you every day and amazingly, still love you :) I might need to subtitle this photo 'Kim, you were right, all the pictures are of just Maia and I'. But I did find one that they are both in, and thus, you have two of my work necessities - Maia and Kim. If I paid someone for all the therapy Maia has offered me through our coffee breaks I would be more than broke! And it's good to have someone who can tell in your voice that you had a rough morning. Having someone that knows you that well is hard to find.

I am blessed to have aunts that are friends. I one time read a quote that said 'only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, keep secrets like a sister, and love like a friend'. I have to say that much of the reason I could walk through this grief with the grace and strength people keep telling me I have is because of my aunts. Another reason I love my aunts is that they remind me that you can laugh at anything, and it's the laughing that will make the difference. This is Brandy and my Aunt Dona wondering what the cubby hole in the couch was in our room during the bone marrow transplant. If you can laugh like we did standing in as many hospital rooms as we did, you have someone who can get you through just about anything! (by the way, I was also going to post a picture of my aunts on my dad's side but have decided to keep that one for day 22...)

Some days I realize how amazing my job really is. And I usually realize it when I'm talking to the people who make my job amazing. I think I could collect trash with the NERRS people and still have fun :) So, for all the times I've needed to e-mail Lisa during a conference call to keep from going crazy, or all the laughs Nicole and I have stifled in the midst of a meeting, or all the looks given across the room knowing full well the other person would know what that look meant, or the absurd number of times Alison and I have shown up to a meeting dressed alike just to show how our brains think alike, or the times I call Tina just to make sure I'm not going crazy, I present a picture of Lisa and Steve in Mexico during our last NERR meeting. Any group that can work a dodgeball championship into a meeting is a group I want to stay part of!

And then there is my church. I honestly don't know what hole I would be curled up in if it wasn't for them. I also don't have a ton of pictures of everyone I love from church, so this picture of Cynthia and I at the International Picnic shall suffice. Cynthia, Pam, and Tina especially - For all the love, and direction, and guidance, and hugs, and tissues, and laughs, and lunches, and dinners, and smiles, and moments of pure peace and joy that you give me - I love you :)

I find it funny that I also don't have a picture of Andrea on my computer. Andrea is one of those friends who you have had so long, and has seen you through so much that you can't imagine life without them. Andrea and I met when we were doing a summer internship in 1999 - yes people, 1999. From the moment we realized that we both had the same stuffed animal dolphin, it was all over. These days our weekly coffee visits involve more reading of Curious George and Cinderella than they did 5 years ago, but that's what happens when life happens :) And so, since there was no picture of Andrea on my computer, we will substitute it with a picture of me and her adorable daughter, Emily :)

Last but not least is the furry little ball of happiness that greets me like she has been sitting by the door awaiting my arrival since the moment I left (which she likely has). Anyone who has a dog knows that a dog truly is man's best friend.