Friend Appreciation!

Do you have those de je vu moments?  The ones when the past comes back to bite you in the butt with memories so strong you’re transported back in time.

I’m dealing with one of those now and hate it.  There’s no need to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say the emotional turmoil is enough to keep me awake at night and anxious during the day.  This morning I made a phone call to the person I thought would understand and it did help to talk to her. 

She didn’t tell me not to worry when I burst into tears and shared the reason.  When I acknowledged it was probably foolish to react this way, instead of telling me not to worry she understood my terror.  Just hearing her give validity to the fact she’d have similar fears if faced with the situation and understanding the memories it brought forth helped. 

This is one of the reasons we need friends who know us well in our lives.  The person who ‘gets’ you under any circumstance and is there to cheer during the good times, and offers the shoulder to cry on while they encourage you during the tough ones.  

Though I appreciate her so much at times like this, she’s appreciated for all the little things too.  The unimportant grumbles she listens to when I’m having an off day, the way she laughs at my lame jokes and how she’s interested in what’s happening with my family, as I am with hers.  That’s an added bonus of being friends for so long and our kids wandering through each other’s lives.  We’ve become sisters of the heart and created a bond that each of knows they can depend on no matter how serious the issue or how minor it may see to an outsider.  It becomes important to one of us when it affects the other.

And yes, I do have other friends I value, but my sister friend has been part of my life for so long I almost can't remember it before her.

Do you have someone like that in your life?  If so, share a comment about them.  Let’s make this “Love & Appreciate True Friends” week!