Thought 25: That's what friends are for . . .

In the fall of 1999, Bob and I made our first big move as a family. We moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan so I could attend the University of Michigan School of Social Work for my Masters Degree. I focused on Interpersonal Practice with Children and Families. We were Michigan fans instantly. I will never forget the look on Bob's face when we received our UM football season tickets in the mail before we moved. The first game was against Notre Dame and ESPN Gameday was there. Bob convinced me to get up early enough so we could be out there for the start of the show. We sported out maize and blue with tattoos on our face. We looked like we had been fans much longer then the 5 minutes we had lived there. Football Saturdays in Ann Arbor were some of our favorite days during our 7 years as Michiganders. Just don't bring up with Bob the Michigan State game we left early because I was cold and Michigan came back to win in the third overtime. Oops. 

How to draw a rainbow . . . Help in trying out for the dance team . . . Attempts at driving a manual transmission . . . a few of the many things that I have learned from my friends over my lifetime. Some of the things we learn from friends are things we can see while others touch closer to the heart. I have been fortunate to make so many amazing friends throughout my life, starting with my very first friends, Laura and Erica. I knew them both from almost the very beginning. I spent a lot of time with each of them in the first eleven years of my life before my family moved to Tallahassee. I am lucky that I am still connected with them both today and I enjoy staying in touch and seeing pictures of their beautiful children. 

One of the great things about social media sites like Facebook is I am able to stay connected with so many people from every part of my life. I have amazing friendships from both high school and college that I just wish I could keep up with better. Facebook is not the best way to do that, but unfortunately that is the best we have sometimes. I continue to try and do better to connect in other ways. The best friends I have from college are ones Bob and I share together. They are so special to us, and even though we don't have the chance to talk or get together like we want to, we always know that we are there for each other no matter what happens. I will never forget when they all drove or flew down for my mom's funeral. I was blown away and will never forget that moment when they all walked in together. I will love them always. 

When I became a mother in November 2010, I could not have been more excited and scared at the same time. Those first few months were somewhat lonely in that I did not have a lot of local connections to share in being a new mother. I was missing my mom like crazy as it had only been a year and a few months since she had passed. I didn't even realize how much I needed other women to share in this new experience of being a mom. I was blessed to have the two most amazing sister-in-laws to commiserate with as we all became moms within 10 weeks of each other - zero to three grandchildren almost instantly for Bob's parents!

And then one day in March 2011, I decided to venture out and take Megan to story time at our nearby library. I sat down and was excited about joining in on an activity that I looked forward to doing as a mom for so long. Little did I know that I was sitting down next to a fellow mother that would change my life forever - my Jenn. We started talking immediately and she told me about a local mom's group that she had connected with already. The group was organized through a website called Meetup and was a larger group of area moms looking to get together for playdates and activities, many of which were stay-at-home moms like me. My first "meetup" was at a local park and I was so nervous. I brought a blanket for Megan and sat down with all the other moms and babies. I quickly met some amazing friends who are now like family to me. It was a large group and different people showed up at different things, but it did not take us long to find each other and some of us to become a smaller and closer group of friends and "super mommies." 

We went out for an evening of celebration and friendship recently to say farewell as a group to two of our ladies. Their lives are taking them to new adventures in St. Louis and Raleigh, and I could not be more happy for them and their families. I will just miss them so much. I am not good with goodbyes. Both of these ladies are so incredibly special to me and are two of my best friends. We have navigated this thing called motherhood together on a daily basis. From the emotions that come with every stage to what sippy cup is best to problem solving when the babies are sick, we have discussed it all and kept each other sane. We have taken care of each other's kids and leaned on each other through both highs and lows. The ladies you see above, and some that are not pictured, have been a gift from God to me. I truly believe that my mom sent them to me. We have spent so much time together that I love their children like they are my own and it has been so much fun to see many of their families growing with additional children. Our kids all love each other so much and are learning about the importance of friendship from each other. 

We have played and spent time together on almost a weekly basis for over three years now, sometimes more than once a week. This picture is from the first playdate I hosted at our house with two of Megan's best buddies. As the kids continued to grow, we started taking our "couch pictures" and lining them up together. We have run out of couch room now, but it doesn't keep us from lining them up for a group shot. Over the years, we have kept the frozen yogurt business going in our community, worn out the sidewalks of the zoo and botanical gardens, made our presence known at the local parks, and destroyed many a playrooms at each other's homes. I had to get unlimited texting for my phone so I could keep up with our group conversations when we were not together. It is all in a good day's fun! 

As the kids all get bigger and time continues to move too fast, we always find ways to stay connected. It does become more of a challenge as families have different school schedules and activities start to come into play. Some friends have moved a few cities away, but still in the area, while we have our first birds to leave the nest and move to another state. We have all decided that we will work hard to stay in touch and find ways to stay connected. Life will always go on and distance can be difficult to deal with when trying to maintain any relationship. No matter where life takes any of us, we will always have these special years together when we learned so much about ourselves as both women and mothers, wives and daughters, and most of all friends.