Hop On Pop and Other Such Nonsense...

So, odd fact about me:

I find friends in the most unusual places.  
Everything ranging from the grocery store to the line to drop off my kiddo at school to a seventh grade locker and an embarrassing friend; I collect 'em everywhere.  We've come and gone and sometimes walked out of each others' lives but sometimes, you get to keep them.  But why should I be so blessed?  Why do I get the priveledge of having these fan-freaking-tastic people in my life???  In the end, I really believe it boils down to one thing. 

Loyalty.

It kinda makes your cringe just to read it huh?  Like me and my friends are a pack of slobbery, shaggy golden retrievers running around a park chasing a gross, slimy tennis ball.

Wait, come to think of it.....I might have some friends that look like that....Haha.

Seriously, I have a about 500 "friends" on FB.  And while I do personally "know" everyone of them, I don't count them as my real friends.  I have a handful; literally, a handful; of people I know I can truly count on and rely on.  If I called, there is no doubt in my mind they would be there.  I am so grateful to them for knowing me at my worst, and loving me at my best.  Makes me an awfully lucky person, especially since sometimes, I am not a great friend. 

Life interferes.  Work, kids, marriage, hell even a flat tire can literally change your friendship "status".  I have lost friends I swore I would grow old with.  I've kept friends whom I never thought would be more than a passing fling. 

Loyalty has kept us all coming back.  We have survived marriages and miscarriages, divorces, deaths, births, car wrecks and heart wrecks.  We've been bloodied, bruised and hurting beyond measure.  We have been proud, encouraging, amazing and beautiful.  We have told each other, in the words of one of my favorite people, "Pretty good-but not great."-Julia Child.  And walked away unoffended and giggling. 

And, at the end of the day, within all the text messages, the emails, the 3 am phone calls and then occasional visits, I know who has my back.  When the chips are down I know who I am calling and I guarantee that that person has more love for me than I have any right to deserve. 

To all of you out there, thank you.  From the bottom of my heart, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, all the way around the universe and back, thank you. 

You mean the world to me, and I couldn't imagine my life without you.