Yesterday’s Thankvember post was dedicated to my close bloggy friends. Today, I am sharing my gratitude for my real life, in-person, non-family support circle of friends. The people in the photos above help my world go ’round, and keep me sane when I need it the most. Starting at the top:
The girl I’m jumping on? That’s Meg. She also happens to be the pretty face with mine in the next photo. Obviously, we’re close – closer than I thought it was possible to become with a friend, really. We met 7ish years ago, online, through her husband (that is a story for another day), and became fast friends. ArtistChild and her youngest daughter have grown up together, and we’ve both gone from SAHM’s to chasing our dreams because of each other. I vent to her, cry to her when my world falls apart, ask her for help when I’m closing in on a deadline, and can always count on her to be there when I need her. She’s held my hand through two too many break-ups, many heartbreaks, death, and even just daily frustration of my over-burdened schedule that sometimes rivals hers. I dedicated a whole blog post to this beautiful woman several weeks ago. Meggers – I love you!
Next up is my Crystal! She and I met on campus 5-6ish years ago. We started off as gossip buddies during lunch and quickly transformed to life-long friends. Crystal supports me by showing up to cut and fold endless stacks of paper flowers, sending me links to ideas that make her think of me, and our epic craft nights spent creating hair accessories and brainstorming. She’s gorgeous, brutally honest, a little on the vulgar side…and I wouldn’t have her any other way.
The cute, shy looking redhead? That’s Jordan! I also met Jordan on campus during lunch, just like Crystal. Jordan comes to me with her life issues, just like I did Crystal. ♥ And, in return, I lay my daily woes and vents on her as well. We make each other laugh, pick on/compliment each other’s clothes, and come up with off-the-wall ideas for the blog. Jordan is a ‘new’ friend in my life – we just met a couple of semesters ago, but she has quickly become a staple.
The blonde beauty is Amanda, my photographer. I’ve interviewed her before on the blog and have posted a lot of her photos! Amanda and I met in 3rd grade and, to date, she is one of my longest-running friends. ♥ Amanda inspires me because she had a dream and went for it. She is also one of the most sincerely sweet people I’ve ever met in my life, and her complete faith and trust in Jesus almost makes me want to be a Christian again. Almost. She is a perfect example of how I feel Christians should live in order to bring others to their faith, and I both commend and respect her for it. Amanda is also the one who pushed, urged, and jokingly threatened me into selling my bouquets and wedding accessories on Etsy. Without her confidence in my work, this blog wouldn’t even exist for you to read!
Next is My Matty. Yes, he’s wearing a top hat, and yes, that’s a cigarette in his hand. Good news is that he quit smoking…yesterday. We’ll see how well that goes! Matt and I met half-a-decade ago, at the same little spot on campus where I met Crystal and Jordan. We spent several years simply picking on each other before becoming actual friends, and we’ve been close to inseparable since. He’s one of those crazy positive people that believe I can do anything to which I put my mind. I could be aiming to be the first blogger in space, and he would sincerely support me and be exited about my goals and efforts. He’s always excited to hear about my latest crazy idea, even though he doesn’t always understand them – ‘cuz, I’m a dude.’ ♥
And last, but definitely not least – the zombie guy is Demon, otherwise known as Jonathan. He and I were introduced through a mutual friend and met in person the day he took me to see The Spirit to ease my newly-divorcing woes. Like the rest in the post, we became great friends. While I already had my toe in the ‘geek’ world, Demon gave me a big, giant push. We’re talking World of Warcraft, Dr. Who, geeky-awesomeness here. I was an addict. And, it was all his fault. Years later, we still spend our time bantering and encouraging each other in our weirdness, as well as our dreams and goals. I know I can count on him to never lie to me, (though he often seems like he’s lying, because he tells the truth), and his epic-yet-frustrating Spok-logic defeats my sometimes less-than-thought-out plans every time. We talk daily, though I often roll my eyes at his antics and, after nearly 4 years he’s still one of the few people I turn to when things hit the fan and I need advice, help, or someone to remotely fix my computer.
This is the longest blog post I’ve written in awhile, but I felt the need to let each of them know exactly what they bring to my life and how much I appreciate their friendship. I know they have my back when I need it, and I love being able to trust my creativity, spirit, and heart in the hands of others. ♥
Do you have friends that make your world go ’round?
I know for a fact that my life sucks without you in it. Thanks for loving me despite my countless flaws. <3
I loved reading every word and smiling back at every face. You rock!! Thankvember rocks! Gratitude rolls it all up in a ginormous ball of love!
I do have a friend that makes my world go round. She does a blog that I don’t read nearly enough. :P
Everyone reading this – that spot on campus where Crystal, Jordan, Shai and I met cannot be praised enough. It’s like a second home to me, and I wouldn’t trade the friendships formed there for anything in the world.
Seriously. You guys rock. <3
Awesome post. But what else would I expect from someone so amazing and thoughtful and grateful?
Beautiful post!
Love the post! Looks like you have pretty awesome friends!