September is Friend Month!

Ok, so September is the month that I get to tell friends how much I appreciate them. Easy right? Eh, not as much as I thought. I thought it would be a piece of cake because, let's be honest...it's what I'm good at. Let me start at the beginning....as a child, an only child that moved around a lot, I did not have a close friend. I had friends along the way, but not that special friend that I watch my own daughter search for now. I tell her all the time, "What do you mean, you have tons of friends!" But I know exactly what king of security she is hunting for. I finally found Tammy Birdwell in 3rd grade but alas, we moved AGAIN in 5th grade and things got more difficult from there. By the time I was in 7th grade, I had been in 7 schools. I had some friends in high school, but I lacked that key factor of trust. Looking back, I have always treasured the real thing...no wonder I didn't trust anyone, we were all trying to be someone else! After I got married at the ripe old age of 21, I started finding some real life long friends. I realized early in my marriage that as close as we were, he could only take so much of my deep talk. Since then, I have made some fabulous friendships and made my life and marriage well rounded at the same time.
I guess my problem with the friendships that I have made is that we can never stay in the same town. Maybe it is the American 20-30 year-old way, but I have grabbed on to some spectacular friendships, only for them to become some absolutely wonderful long distance friendships. Don't get me wrong, I still have some fantastic local friendships that I am tremendously thankful for, and they are building stronger as we speak. It's just funny that the absolute closest ones are the ones that change. Why does that happen? Why is holding on to them so important to me? I guess somewhere along the way, I learned that other women are not always the enemy, but the ones that share a common story, heartbreak, life struggle, sense of humor. I started out this life, first liking only animals, then liking only boys, and finally finding that my sisters could be the nicest surprise that I find in life. What is so hard about thanking them for that....well, that will have to wait until next time cause we are out of time.