Not just friends.... Best Friends

Best Friends! Could there be anything better? I had the opportunity to reflect on that and once again count my many blessings. As I write this, let it be known that there are many special people in my life that are dear and treasured friends but there are a handful that are unlike any others. They are all special to me but not close friends with one another, which I also find a bit odd. Instead of quietly reflecting I thought I would share my thoughts on my blog. I know that anyone who reads this will then reflect on the friends in their lives and recall those that are special. I cannot choose a "best" because they are all the very best so I am going to go in order of who I have known the longest.

Victoria! I love this person for so many reasons. She is the first Best Friend. I have known her since I was 5 and before I ever attended school. Our dad's worked together in the mines and that alone gave us some common ground! Hahaha! We didn't understand being best friends because even at a young age I think we felt a closer bond. So we began to tell people we were "almost cousins". I am sure some adults wondered about that statement, but to us it just meant that we were not just friends but family as well. As we grew older we began to run in different circles. Our interests were different and so we didn't always spend as much time together as one would think. It really didn't change things though because when we were together we could talk about anything and everything and we did. We had a very unique and deep understanding of one another. We even had the chance to attend the same school together and still did not hang out with each other much. I am not sure other people would have even linked us together as being close friends at all. A best kept secret I guess. As life carried us in different directions we did lose contact with one another but never lost our connection. Through the years we always found each other and tried to catch up, only to quickly move on with this ever busy world. Well, facebook is a blessing unlike anything I have ever seen, and it brought us together again. So we did what we do best, we talked on the phone. It was as if we had never spent a single day apart. I could tell her anything and I knew she would get me, she would understand and she would not judge me. Even when we don't always agree on the same things, which, by the way.... seems seldom, we can accept those differences. A precious and rare jewel indeed. I love ya "cuz"!

Then there is Dawna. We were basically told by our parents, you two are friends. Oh... ok we thought and we decided to give this friendship a try. From the beginning it was clear that we were not much alike. I always think of Dawna as being very strong and independant. Qualities I admire but not ones I really had at a young age. Our families shared a common thing as well, they both ran a small grocery store in a small town. My family had it and went bankrupt and then Dawn's family gave it a go. Good luck to anyone on that journey. Well, to make matters worse or better depending on the way you look at it, God brought a very special baby into our lives. A baby that my family loved and adored and a baby that Dawna's family loved and adored. This is the stuff that Lifetime Movie Network makes movies about. My nephew David came and blessed us all. His life is nothing short of being an answer to my prayers. Not that I was praying for my sister to have a baby, but I so wanted to be a big sister and have someone to "boss around". Well, I got my wish for a few years, and guess what, as much as I wanted to boss him around, he was the boss. He had me wrapped around his finger and I would have given my life for him. Well, it wasn't enough for Dawna to be my friend, she wanted to be family too. We used to think up ways we could grow up and be related to one another. We decided we could just drive semi trucks, that sounded cool. Purple and pink polka dots. Well........ we did become family. She became the big sister to my nephew. Now she gets to boss him around. Must I always live out my dreams vicariously through my friends??? Well, there isn't anyone else I would want to play that role in his life. I love you Dawna. More than you will ever know. Not sure if this makes us sisters or if I am now your aunt. And in either case... I get to boss you around :)

Well, then there are two that I "met" around the same time. They happen to be actual family but became so much more, and really....that is a miracle for family to be friends. Most of the time we can't choose family. My cousins, Theresa and Donna. I met you as a child but didn't become friends until I was a teenager. Family has brought us together but there is a bond that is unlike anything I have with my other relatives. They really are like sisters. Neither of them had a sister so we became sisters to each other. I, however, do have a sister and she is my hero. That's another blog. To this day, we are close and I expect that will never change.

Well, then there is Karla. She is probably one that surprises me most. I knew her and her family all of my life. Her Dad, Mr. Beall, was my bus driver in 1st grade. I loved him. The whole family was known by all. They are the kind of people who would do anything for anyone. Awesome people. Karla... well, she seemed to be the loud one of the bunch. I was scared to death of her. That being the case, I steered clear from her path. Then I found myself in her presence because of a mutual friend. She is the first person I ever hit, accidentally, but nonetheless, it scared the socks off me. Her Dad sided with me so I felt ok about it. Still, I didn't expect that to be a lasting friendship. We had nothing in common and I didn't think I wanted to have anything in common with her. And, out of that grew one of the most interesting and long lasting friendships of my life. We have seen each other through a lot of tough stuff. As much as we irritate one another there is a close bond. I love her like a sister and have always referred to her as Aunt Karla. My daughter was just asking the other day how we were related and she was "aunt". Some relatives are blood and some are from the heart!

That leads me to Erin. I had the great joy of talking with her tonight on the phone. I had always heard that the friends you make in college will be your friends for life. Well, I suppose, in this case, that is true. As a college Freshman my greatest fear was getting a wierd roommate, especially on the U of M campus in Montana. Who knew what you might get. Well, I will never forget the first time I saw her and her parents. Yep... scared me to death. I decided I was an adult now and I could handle it. So I made the most of it in the beginning. Only to learn that she won my heart over. She and I, again, were opposite and really had nothing at all in common. I am learning it isn't the common things that bring people together .... it is coming together and finding the differences are what make common ground. She is a beautiful person inside and out. As we were chatting tonight she said, it is so nice to know that no matter how much time passes since we last talked, we are able to pick up as if we see one another daily. I love that about best friends. They are bound by things that cannot be seen or touched. They are the things that you don't know are even there until little moments like these.

Each of these women are special to me for various reasons. Too many to mention in detail. They have some interesting things in common though. Every one of them have mom's that have played important roles in my life too. In these friends, I have gained moms and dads and siblings. It is really amazing. The other really interesting part is that only one of the above mentioned share my faith. Yet, they are all people of faith. They are all people who have strong family values. You see, we all have something in common. Something that I was unaware of until recently.

These are the best, but there are several others. Some that I take for granted because we are more alike. I don't see them as being someone unusual for me to befriend. It doesn't make them any less special or any less important. But these are the friends that I would never in a million years have imagined that I would still be friends with as an adult. Or that our friendship would last after years of not speaking to one another. I hope everyone has a special friend or two or 5 or 10. Take time to think of your friends. They are angels from heaven. I love you all!