FAMILY :A group of individuals derived from a common stock

I have a habit of thinking so much about things. It's not anything earth-shattering or ingenious. I wake up "thinking" about random things. First I think about what I will be wearing that day and what would be the best hairstyle to accessorize the look with. That never takes too long and then I move on to reflecting on past events. It's usually about what I did the day before or what was going on exactly one year from the day. This morning, and yesterday, and the day before that, and.....back to last weekend, I woke up being so grateful for the time spent with my friends. In the last 10 days or so, I have had the privilege of seeing most of my wonderful friends. Whether it was a combined child playdate, a desire to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon with burgers, an accompanied stroll on Memorial Park's trail, a girly Mexican dinner, an evening waiting for a friend to be seen in the ER, a wine tasting party or an unexpected Sunday visit at the poolside, it was all so very scrumptious to me! This afternoon, I was on the phone planning this upcoming weekend to see more of my friends....my heart is dancing!

An important piece to me is that for most of it, Isabela and/or Crystal got to spend it with us, too. Friends are vital to our family and I want the girls to realize that. I don't' like to say that my friends are "like family", because, they actually "are family". It's a beautiful gift that God created for us. Just think, to be born into one and then to have so much love left over to expand your family with those beautiful human beings around you (the fact that you have choice in the matter is nice, too!). I am also grateful that Sammy feels the exact same way I do about friendships and electing to spend a lot of time with them. You see, we get so much from being with them. Our friends really feed our soul. We learn so much from them and they make us want to be better people. On the same token, I pray every day that all my friends feel the love that I have for them and that I make them feel like superb beings. I want to be that friend that makes you feel like I would drop anything for you...because I will.

I did have one friend some time ago who did not "feed my soul". Consistently, I would try to justify the lack of it and continue searching for that food from her because I did not want to give up on her. Then one day, I realized that it would never happen and I stopped forcing the issue. She told me one day "Brenda, I see that friends to you are like family. But, I don't feel that way. I have my family (mom, dad, siblings). My friends are not near the same level. I don't need to have them, I am ok with that." Hmmmm......that's the day my search was over with her. Fundamentally, we were not coming from the same place. Don't get me wrong, her perogative is ok with me, it's just not for me. Needless to say, we are not friends anymore (and she is not reading this). I think we are both ok about it.

So, to all my beautiful friends, THANK YOU for the HONOR of being in our lives. You fill our family's hearts with richness.

Beso!