Jacked Thumbs & a Grateful Heart.

Can we talk for one quick sec about my friends? 

I went to elementary school in a small town. Middle school came with a move across town to a new district and there I was in 3rd grade in the same town with no friends. Poor me. People move around ALL. THE. TIME. but my memory of it is traumatic, and sad, with a lot of crying on the playground alone and no one to talk to. I made a token friend and trudged through until high school. 

High school is where all the middle schools combined and it felt huge and I was petrified. A friend of my older brothers walked me all the way to the door of my very first class. French. There in French class, freshman year, I met a couple of girls who would change my life. I had no idea who they were, but they felt cool. I think my definition of “cool” at that time would probably be self-confident, pretty, and fun. I felt wildly privileged to be invited to an after school get together one day where we met and watched “Finding Nemo” and giggled together and the rest is history. 

It’s been 17 years since then! Unbelievable. We’ve all graduated high school, many of us have graduated college, some of us have master degrees. A few have drifted from our little group and a few have thankfully joined. Almost all of us have CHILDREN. Multiple children. 😰 We’re nearly all married. We own homes. We vacation together. We’ve made major sacrifices, many blunders, and monumental strides. And we’ve made them all together. 

Rewind to 2011, I up and left for Florida. I gave everyone I knew about 72 hours notice and off I went. Somehow, almost every one of these girls pulled themselves from their crazy lives to wish me farewell before I left. I was given letters and well wishes that I cherish to this day. In typical fashion, I ordered a round of shots for everyone and off I went. Little did they know, I’d meet my husband down in Tampa, and bring him up to meet them barely 6 months later. CraZy?! Sure. But these girls know no judgement. They celebrated the purchase of our first home, and partied alongside us on our wedding day less than a year later. 

Now here we are creeping nervously into our third decade of life wondering what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and why the hell any of it is even happening. How did we go from drunken girls in high school to worried parents? So many questions. So many freaking text messages. My thumbs are jacked because of these girls. Jacked thumbs and a grateful heart. Together we battle everything from birthing babies to bowel movements, pre-marital love making to postpartum sex, and whether or not it’s okay to say that I’m probably going to murder my child if she doesn’t stfu. No clue what I’d do without your constant support, non-judgmental parenting advice, and hilarious memes on a daily basis. 

I’ll be completely honest here and say that I do not feel worthy of the love that I receive from you. I don’t know what I have done to deserve a group of friends this incredible, reliable, consistent, and true. Thank you; all of you, for everything that you are, and everything that you say and do. I am grateful, and I love you all so much. If you’re lucky enough to have friendships like this, tell them how much you love them. Not just right now, but all the time! Genuine friends are rare, but even more rare are life long friends who turn into family.