Friendship

I've tried writing about this topic before, but either I get tongue tied (finger tied?), or I start to worry that I'm not making my point or I'm leaving someone out. Bear with me this morning as I sip my vanilla latte and attempt to write down how thankful I am for my friends.
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When you're young, I think you believe "the more friends I have, the better!" But as you get older, you start to realize that not having as many friends is actually better. When I was in my 20's, I found that I started weeding out the people who really weren't good for me. Either I didn't like how they treated me, or I found that the amount of time and frustration that I put into their problems was becoming an issue. I never mind being there for someone in a crisis, but one particular friend had the same crisis over and over and over. At some point you find yourself banging your head against the wall and wondering, "Why am I banging my head against the wall?!" That friendship ended, and I've never looked back.
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Having grown up in the military, and moved all over the world, I learned early on how to be outgoing and make friends. I still have a handful of military brat friends that are scattered across the U.S. I love the history we share, and that we've kept in touch, even if it's mostly by email these days. What's funny is that some of our dad's are even talking about a reunion golf trip to Scotland. I want in on that!
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Now that I'm in my 30's, I've found a happy medium of friends, and I feel so blessed by them. Among them is my best guy friend that I've known since high school. The day we met it was as if we clicked. We fell right into place with one another, and it's been like that ever since. We met his wife about 5 months later, and thank goodness for that, because no other woman would have been as accepting of our friendship as she. I count her among my dearest, too.
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Then there's the friend I made four years ago, who I didn't even know I would like so much, at first. We were going to be working at the county fair together, and it turns out we both wondered, "How am I going to talk to this person for five hours straight??" Surprise surprise, we barely stopped for a breath as we talked our way through the day, and it didn't take long to realize we were meant to be friends from the start. Fast forward to now, and we are keeping close even though she recently moved to Texas.
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Lately, I don't know what I would do without the women I've bonded with in my town. We're all moms, we're all married, we all have our ups and downs, and we're all there for one another in an amazing way. Just yesterday, it came to our attention that someone was in trouble, and we rallied! A group of us got together at one house, ordered in some dinner, and just let her talk. (Of course, we gave some advice, too...that's what friends do, right? You just take it or leave it.) The point is, we care about each other, and I know that means the world to me.
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It occurs to me that I can't end without an honorable mention of my new bloggy friends. What an awesome thing it is to be connected to all of you out there who are patient and interested enough to read what I have to say about this or that. I love getting to know you, and learning about so many different lives and perspectives and experiences. Thank you for letting me be a part of that.
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To Friendship!!!