Thankful

Tonight I am thankful for unexpected friendships; ones that maybe shouldn't have been.  Friendships that were a reach and required a stretch on my part.   Putting myself out there. And the result is a friend who is just loyal and good and has all of the traits I desire in a friend.  Had I chosen to complain and pity myself instead of pushing outside of my comfort zone, we would not have found each other.  At minimum it would have taken a lot longer for us to have made our connection.

She said she knew we were going to be friends when she first met Little c and saw the way she was dressed. Appearances were obviously not of great importance to me.  Little c must have dressed herself that day in some mis-matched get up.   I knew we would be friends when she was willing to come over to my house, with her kids, after having only emailed back and forth.  And then I learned more about her; she is such a genuine, selfless friend.  There aren't many people in my life who I feel I could call in an emergency in the middle of the night, but she's one of those people.  And how lucky am I to have her just down the road!

It was hard for me when we moved into this new neighborhood and I felt like I had no friends.  My old neighborhood was full of friendly people.  I can't count all of the kind gestures we extended to one another during our 10 years in our old 'hood.  I like to fix problems rather than complain about them.  Desperate for companionship and someone to call when in need of an egg, I emailed the families in our directory with children around our age.  And one mom got back to me and she expressed feeling similarly to me.

I don't need anyone else here so long as I have her.  She's the kind of friend I want to be.  She inspires me with her goodness, selflessness, and willingness to help me whenever I ask.  I never feel guilty either because I feel like she feels genuinely happy to be able to help.

Here's to pushing and stretching and not settling for unhappiness.  Even when faced with adversity and disappointment, look for detours and new paths to get what you want in life.  And you know what, it always seem to work out, and usually better than you expect!