Today

Today was rough.

One of those day where you feel like you've been run over by a train and then dragged behind a bus.

I wouldn't have made it through the day if it weren't for....

the pep talk from an old friend who is a semester ahead of me in the nursing program,

homemade cookies delivered to my door (thanks Liz!),

a great big hug from my sweetie,

the smile from Ian as he patted the spot on the couch next to him telling me he saved "the best seat" for me to watch Cars 2 with him,

watching my daughter's far off look (I swear there were hearts in her eyes!) as she described an 'encounter' with her dream guy today,

my clinical instructor's comment on how much she loved my toe polish as I lay in a hospital bed as a 'patient' while she did a head to toe assessment on me (so thankful my toenails were painted!),

and re-reading (for the millionth time) the sweetest email I have ever received (thank you again Tiff!).

It's the little things in my day that I am finding are so important and so very needed to remind me that while nursing school is trying to take over my life- it never will.

It Begins

Tomorrow morning is my first day of Nursing School.

I have been looking forward to this day for many years.

I face it with much anticipation, nervousness, butterflies in my stomach, excitement, enthusiasm, and optimism. In other words, I'm full of emotion.

I have several friends who have gone through or are currently in the program and therein lies the reason behind all of my emotions.

I have watched them stress out and cry over grades. I have seen bags under their eyes due to lack of sleep. I have heard of their (and their family's) many fast food meals.

But I have also seen their enthusiasm for what they are learning. I have rejoiced with them as each step brought them closer to graduating with their RN. I have cheered for them at their graduation ceremony.

Tomorrow this journey begins for me.

I can't even begin to express how humble I feel to be joining the 80 other student nurses in my cohort as we learn together the art of Nursing. What a thrill! An experience of a lifetime for sure.

It all begins with one step and tomorrow I will proudly take it- in my brand new (whiter than white!) nursing shoes!

My Happy Place

You know when you are about to have some horrible procedure done....like a root canal or an exam on your nether regions (ladies you know what I mean)? The kind of procedure where you just close your eyes and hope and pray it is over soon? The kind that you try to visualize your happy place so that with the help of your mind, you can escape your current reality?

I'd like to introduce you to mine.

This is my happy place. It's a little off road campsite in Daniel's Canyon.
My family, the Adamson's, have camped at this spot for many years. My great-grandfather was a sheep herder and this is one of the spots where he would bring his sheep. Every year, over Labor Day weekend, we have a family reunion here.

I have so many happy memories spending my last days of summer with my cousins, riding motorcycles, putting on 'shows' around the campfire at night and discovering all the family names carved on the trees.
There is a breathtaking mixture of aspen and pine trees.

One of my favorite sounds is the sound of a gentle breeze passing through the aspen trees. There is nothing more relaxing to me than that sound.
My favorite hike is this one, were one minute you are among the aspen trees and the next minute you are in the cool and dark forest of pine trees.

I took a few pictures along my hike this year that hold special memories for me.

Our kids had a great time this year making memories of their own.


It's one of those places that holds so much hidden beauty.
But when you are there, time just somehow slows down so that you can notice it all.
So if I'm ever in a coma or just have a far off look on my face....now you know where I'll be. :)

This Week

Happy Monday friends!

Here's a few things on my to do list this week...

Taste each flavor of 'Creamies' that are stocked in my freezer.
Hope and hope that the library calls with my book that is on hold.
I will read lots of blogs.
Sleep (it's something I crave more and more since I started working 12 hour shifts)

Work my way through 3 shifts at the hospital.
Enjoy my morning walks with my friend.
Enjoy sitting outside on the porch and around the fire pit at night with those I love most.
Kiss and hug my family!

It's going to be a busy week for sure. I don't know how I will keep up with it all.

What's on your to do list this week?

A special thank you to my in-laws for sharing roses from their garden! They are just what I needed to brighten up my kitchen!

Perspective

I have a two-sided mirror in my bathroom. One side shows a reflection of things as they are, the other magnifies.

I can get lost in the magnified side. My pores look HUGE as do the little fine hairs on my face. I will find myself, plucking, trimming, squeezing and pulling until my face looks acceptable to me.

Today after washing my face, I looked in the mirror and all looked fine. Then I flipped it to the magnified side. I was horrified! Out came the hair trimmer, the tweezers and coverup.

What changed from when I looked at my face in the mirror to when I flipped it to the magnified side? Just my perspective.

I have found the same thing to be true in my life.

To me, I live life on the magnified side. Everything looks huge and messy and hairy. I can get lost in the 'huge pores' that are my problems. I get weighed down by the 'fine hairs' that others would never even notice.

I have few friends that I can confide in and can trust in their advice and perspective. They don't see me or my life in the same magnified way that I do. From their perspective, they can show me that things aren't really as ghastly or as nasty as I think they are.

During a morning walk, I shared an issue in our family that is weighing on my heart. My friend listened quietly. Then she pointed out something that I had never thought of before- or even realized that I was doing. Because I was so caught up in this issue, (too close to it perhaps) I was unable to see that I was contributing to the problem instead of helping to make it better.

I am so thankful for my friends. They are wise and sincere, honest and inspired. They help me to take a step back from the mirror and see things the way they are- which is usually much different than what I have convinced myself that they are.

Magnified mirrors definitely serve a purpose- to show you that missed black, wiry hair that has grown out of your chin overnight. But don't forget to take a step back and realize that when you examine anything too close, imperfections are sure to be found and those imperfections can make you want to crawl back in bed and never get out.

Thankfully we don't live under magnification. And whatever problems you have- there is always another way to look at them.

You just have to take a step back.

Motherhood

My Mother's Day gift from my mom (it's a picture of her when she was 2 1/2 years old- the little heart is from the necklace she is wearing in the picture)


Sitting down to write my annual Mother's Day card to my mom is always a daunting task.

How do you adequately put into words and express how you feel about your mom? It's something I struggle with every year.

But this year, I just let go. I sat down with the card and my pen and just wrote. It felt good not to worry if I was sounding too mushy or if my spelling was correct (which it probably wasn't). In the end, I felt that the card came close to saying what my heart was feeling at that moment.

After reading it, with tears in her eyes, my mom looked at me and said, "You give me too much credit."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You were and are a wonderful mother. I owe you so much for all that you have taught me. Everything I learned about being a mother I learned from you."

The next day, Mother's Day, I was sitting in church listening to the youth of our ward speaking about their mothers. I started sobbing uncontrollably. The emotion of it all caught me quite off guard. I wasn't prepared for the feelings I felt as I listened to these children praising their mothers.

I felt inadequate. I felt like I was not as good as the other mother's I was hearing about. I felt like a failure. It was ugly. (The feelings I had inside as well as the snot and tears running down my face.)

I felt beaten down instead of feeling inspired to do better. I felt like there was no hope. During those few minutes, I had convinced myself that I did not deserve to be the mother of these beautiful children that God had entrusted to my care. I felt that I was not living up to His expectations. It was awful. It was all I could do to make it through the final two hours of church.

After church, Nicole gave me her Mother's Day letter.

Each line seemed to mend and soothe the self inflicted rips and tears that my tortured heart had endured during the meeting earlier that day.

"I feel the only way to truly thank you and to thank Heavenly Father is to be a mom just like you." she said.

It was the same thing that I had tried to say to my mom the day before (only she did a much better job of putting it into words). But as I read her letter, I had to stop myself when I noticed the same words my mom had said to me earlier starting to form in my mind, "You give me too much credit."

Being a mom is a hard job. But it is also the most amazing, wonderful, joyful, and fun job that one could ever have. And since there is no handbook that comes along with each child- it's one of those learn-as-you-go type of positions, we all just do the best we can. The problem comes when we start comparing ourselves to others. It is never a fair comparison either. It is always a comparison of their strengths to your weakness.

After reading Nicole's letter, I spent some time thinking about motherhood.

I am so blessed to be a mother. But I am not perfect. I am trying, but there are definitely days when I fall short. I truly believe that Motherhood is a partnership with God. And that is where I find my comfort. Where I fall short, He is there to pick up the pieces.

I am so grateful to be a mother. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned because of being a mom. I am grateful for the hard times and ever so thankful for the seasons of joy. Motherhood is a divine calling- and there is nothing I would rather be doing than raising my children.

Yesterday I learned that there is one who would have us feel as though we will never measure up, that we are not qualified, or good enough. But that is a lie. We are exactly the mothers our children need and deserve. God is counting on us to raise His children- He trusts us. And that is all we need to know. That is what keeps me motivated to try harder. To do better.

I am a mother. And it is oh so good.

Fooled ya!

Happy April 1st!

I used to be really big into April Fool's Day pranks but for some reason I just haven't been feeling it today.

So instead, how about we play truth or lie? This is going to be too easy for those of you who really know me. But here goes.....

1- I was a featured extra in a video that was produced by the church- in fact you probably own this video. (As in VHS- that tells you how long ago this was!) I can't reveal which one it is because then you could watch it and cheat. :)

2- I spent the first summer after I graduated High School working at Disneyland as a princess. Best job ever!

3- I have been driving for 22 years and have never had a speeding ticket. I'm gonna be a mess if I ever do and ruin that perfect record of mine.

4- I was the only child in my family to have to visit the emergency room. A total of 5 times. (fingernail polish remover in my eyes, a huge sliver in my behind, a broken finger, sliced open ankle, and a car accident)

5- I used to work at Adorn Me in the mall. I pierced ears. When a mom would bring her brand new baby in to have her ears pierced, I would lie and tell her the machine was broken so that I didn't have to be the one to hurt the sweet baby.

6- I break out in hives when I eat anything with celery in it. And speaking about breaking out, I had THE WORST ACNE when I was a teenager.

7- I have written faithfully in my journal since I was eight years old. You can only imagine how many journals I have! The 'teenage years' journals should be burned though. Every painful 'he said, she said' detail is in there!

8- I have owned and driven 10 different vehicles since Erik an I were married. That's almost a new car every two years. Hunny- I'm due for a new one!

9- I hardly ever eat breakfast. I'm all about lunch and dinner though!

10- I had an article written about me in the New Era when I was 16 years old. It was on budgeting and a photographer came to Marie Calendar's where I worked and took pictures of me bussing a table. So embarrassing!

And one more just for fun....

11- I had promised to 'wait' for two missionaries before I met Erik. One was already out on his mission, the other was just about to leave. (Was I a player or what!) When Erik came along- it was instantly obvious that I had found my man! I broke the news to them both two weeks later. A strange twist to this all is that one of them ended up marrying my little sister so he's now my brother- in- law. It was pretty awkward at first, but it's no biggie now. He was a much better match for her than for me.

So which ones are flat out lies?

A Bit of Unexpected

I've had a few unexpecteds happen around here this week.....

1- While making vinegar taffy on Monday with Isaac, I started pulling the taffy before it was cool enough and burned both of my pointer fingers and thumbs. Ouch! That's never happened to me before- at least not while pulling taffy.

2- I fell in love with this book. I thought it would be an OK read, but I seriously could not put it down. I was pleasantly surprised! I'm a hopeless romantic and this was such a great love story. In fact, I'm going out today to buy Erik a pair of Wranglers and a cowboy hat!

3- I got to spend the afternoon with my parents yesterday cutting back the rosebushes at my Grandpa's house. When we got there, we rang the doorbell and after a few minutes, he answered the door wearing only some loose fitting basketball shorts. His body was all oiled up and his skin was red. He had been laying out in the backyard. It was unexpected, but it made me smile. My grandpa is one of a kind. It was an awesome day- spending it working side by side with my parents and serving my grandpa.

4- Erik won tickets to a concert (OMD- do you remember this band? Oh the Eighty's!). He was pretty excited about it- me not so much. I'm always afraid that I am going to get knifed at a concert or something equally as horrible. However, I put my fears aside and accompanied him downtown to The Depot. The concert started at 9:00. In the P.M.! On a Wednesday night! Anywhoo, as we approached the venue, there was a large crowd gathered around waiting to get in. They didn't look like they were too threatening so I relaxed a little. :) As we worked our way closer, we passed a man who was holding up two fingers and quietly asking if anyone had two tickets.

I looked at Erik and said, "We should give ours to him. He looks like he really wants to go." Unexpectedly, Erik stopped and asked him how much he would pay for them. "I don't know," the man said, "how about you give me a price you are willing to sell them for. My fiance just really wants to go and the concert is sold out." Erik paused for a minute and said, "How about $60." The man said, "For how many?" Erik told him two. Quicker than you could say, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, the man shoved the bills into Erik's hand.

"We are in!", he yelled as he flashed the tickets at his fiance. She started jumping up and down and screaming. It was pretty cute.

After putting the money away, Erik and I stood there for a second and looked at each other. Erik said, "What the heck just happened? I just sold my tickets." We walked back to our car that we had just parked moments before laughing the whole way.

Instead of wasting a night out, we decided to stop for dessert. After enjoying our dessert- still shaking our heads at what had happened, Erik reached for his wallet to pay the waiter. He grabbed the wad of bills the man had given him and realized that instead of $60 the man had given him $80. We're not sure if in all of his excitement he overpaid us or if it was something he had meant to do, but it was an unexpected surprise.

I have discovered that sometimes the unexpected- although it can sometimes bring pain and discomfort with it (as in example number 1), can also be quite fun and rewarding. :) Can't wait to see what the rest of the week will bring!

Just What I Needed

I knew it was going to be a long day when I walked past the nurse's station and saw the board announcing that 10 patients would be arriving from the Operating Room and 4 would be coming from the Emergency Room that day.

My heart sank when I next noticed that my fellow aide, Jimmy, had been put on call.

"10 surgeries and I am the only aide. Just great.", I thought to myself.

On the floor at that moment, there were 12 patients. We had to have 15 in order to have two Aides.

"No problem," I thought. "Three more admits and Jimmy will be called in. It's going to be fine. I can do this."

THIS.

THIS was only my second day as an aide. I had been training for the past couple of months but THIS was for real now. THIS meant that I would be the only one who would be in charge of doing blood sugars, taking vitals, helping with showers and bed baths, helping patients to the bathroom or emptying catheters, hooking and unhooking IV poles, nasal cannulas, removing meal trays, changing linens, filling mugs, etc., etc. Just me.

The first patient came from the OR. I started taking their vitals as soon as they arrived. I would need to do it again 15 minutes later. Then an hour after that, and again an hour after that. Followed again 4 hours later. (Do you see how this can be a bit overwhelming when you have 10 patients coming from the OR in one day? That's a lot of schedules to remember!)

The second OR patient hit the floor about 30 minutes later. We were at 14! One more and Jimmy would be called in. Then I got the page to do discharge vitals in room 319. Now we would be down to 13.

It went that way all day. A patient or two would be admitted, and one or two would be discharged. The census just hovered around 14 all morning and into the afternoon.

I was literally running between patient rooms trying to keep up with all the vitals and answering call lights. At two o'clock, I was frazzled. Overwhelmed and on the verge of tears, I realized that I hadn't taken a break or had anything to eat or drink since 6 o'clock that morning.

I stopped by the nurse's station and announced that I was going to get some lunch- trying very hard not to look at anyone for fear that they would see that I was starting to get teary-eyed. "That's a good idea," one nurse said, "You have been running around all day!"

I went to the break room, retrieved my lunch from the fridge and dialed Erik. I needed someone to tell me it was going to be OK. I still had 5 hours to go and at least seven more patients coming.

Erik didn't answer. As I hung up the phone, I told myself that it was best that he hadn't because I probably would have fallen apart and then would have made a gigantic fool of myself.

I took a deep breath and opened my lunch bag. I pulled out my sandwich and noticed a square piece of paper sitting at the bottom of the bag.

I reached in and pulled it out. I opened the folded piece of paper and discovered that it was a note from Nicole.

"Dear Mommy,
I love you so much! Thank you for all that you do for me. You are the best mom! What you are doing at the hospital is truly amazing and Christ-like! Keep up the good work!
Love, Nicole"

It was just what I needed.

I swallowed back my tears, said a little prayer of thanks for being blessed with such a thoughtful daughter, and ate my lunch ready to face the rest of the day.

This very moment

I've read 'this very moment' posts on other people's blogs- so yes, I am borrowing this cute idea. I take no credit for it whatsoever. I just love the idea of taking a snapshot of my life and writing it down so that I can look back on it years from now and remember how good life was- and hopefully still will be!

At this very moment....

I am eating a very delicious sandwich- turkey on wheat with Swiss cheese, with a side of kettle cooked sea salt and vinegar chips. Yum!

I am wearing my most favorite necklace. It's so simple.

It is so quiet in my house that I can hear the fridge running and the clock ticking. I love it!

I am recovering from a 12 hour shift at the hospital- will my feet ever get used to being on them for that long?

I am still in awe at how well Nicole's talk went last night at the youth Stake fireside. What an awesome young lady she is!

I am waiting for the dough to rise so I can make homemade rolls to go with the BBQ ribs we are having for dinner.

It is sunny and 52 glorious degrees.

I have two books waiting to be picked up at the library that I am very excited about.

I am looking forward to spending time with friends at lunch this week.

I have lots of hangnails- I need to drink more water.

I am working on my Sunday School lesson. It's always a work in progress- and always hanging over my head!

I am feeling that 'spring cleaning' bug.

I am reading a book about slavery and am wondering how this ever became an acceptable way to treat another human being?

I am trying to come up with a fun theme for girls camp.

I am texting Nicole. :)

I am doing laundry and enjoying the clean smells drifting through my home.

I am very content.

Focus

Less than an hour before the new year would begin, I found a quite spot in the house and with a pen and paper in hand, I wrote down my goals for the new year. I tried to look at each area of my life; spiritual, physical, emotional, social, mental, etc. and thought of one thing I would like to improve on in each of those areas.

After writing it all down, I looked over my list. It was all good. Really good. But, my list was long. My list seemed overwhelming. My list gave me a headache.

But then I had an idea. A flash of inspiration.

If I would take each of my goals, and work on them one at a time, instead of trying to tackle them all at once.....I just might be able to do it.

It is now three days into the new year. I am still working on goal number one, and probably will be for awhile. But it is good. It is really good. And I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel like this just might be my year.

It's amazing how differently things can look when you focus.

Happy 2011!

Thankful for a lesson learned

I stopped by the hospital today to help for a few hours. It was early in the morning and I began to do patient rounds to see if there was anything I could get for them.

I stopped by the room of a frail looking man with thinning brown hair. He was in the middle of eating his breakfast of scrambled eggs covered in cheese, hash browns, bacon, toast, fruits, juices and a yogurt.

After introducing myself, I asked him if I could get anything for him, fully expecting him to say no. Instead, he asked me to get him an Italian Ice.

"You may not have any because they were out last night" he went on to say, "so if there are none, please bring me two cups of vanilla ice cream, a Styrofoam cup, and some rootbeer so that I can make myself a root beer float."

I thought his request to be somewhat strange because of the time of day and the fact that he was still eating his breakfast. But I told him I would go and check on the Italian Ice. Before leaving his room I mentioned to him that if there were none, he would have to wait on the rootbeer float because we were out Styrofoam cups for the time being, but that more would be arriving soon.

He said that would be fine, so off I went.

Less than one minute later, I returned to his room with the Italian Ice. "It's the last one!" I said as I handed it to him. He took it with a smile and I continued, "I will check back on you later, when the cups arrive to see if you still might like to have a rootbeer float." Then I left his room and went off to the next patient.

About 30 minutes later, I was walking past the nurse's station when the charge nurse said to me, "You forgot to bring my patient a rootbeer float." She seemed annoyed which surprised me. It hadn't been that long since I had brought him the Italian Ice. I had forgotten to check to see if the cups had arrived but I hadn't expected him to be that anxious to get his float.

I went to his room, and after knocking on his door, I slowly walked in. He was eating his rootbeer float. "Are we still friends?" I asked him with a smile. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner and that you had to ask your nurse to get you the float." I said.

I expected him to say it was OK, not to worry, etc. Instead he said, "You need to start carrying around a notebook so that you can write these things down. I know you get busy, but you shouldn't forget."

I wanted to tell him it had only been 30 minutes, that he was still eating his breakfast for heaven sakes, that he had JUST eaten an Italian Ice, that there was only one of me and 32 patients and that I WOULD have come back eventually.

Instead, I said, "You are right. I need to do that. I shouldn't forget."

I have been thinking a lot about this man and what he said. At first I felt like I was being unfairly criticized. I'm a volunteer for crying out loud! I often do get busy running errands here and there for this nurse or that and most days only get to each patients room once in four hours. But then I realized that he was trying to teach me an important lesson. He was trying to teach me how to give better care and to realize that these patients are relying on us to do things for them that they cannot do for themselves. And that thirty minutes can seem like hours to someone sitting alone in a hospital room.

A rootbeer float seems like a trivial thing to you and I, but to a patient who perhaps hasn't been allowed to eat anything but a clear diet for days and has just been cleared for a regular diet again, this type of thing can be huge to them.

I'm grateful for this man. Grateful that he took the time to teach me this lesson instead of just saying that it was OK.

Today, I am thankful for the lessons I learn each time I walk through the hospital doors.

Thankful for Prayer

I had an overwhelming and stressful day today and there were two specific times that I was in serious need of immediate relief from symptoms I was experiencing that were distressing me and were distracting me from the nursing orientation I was attending.

On two separate occasions, I mentioned this to two different people I was texting (I KNOW! texting during an orientation.....shameful!). I asked them to pray for me. Almost immediately after, I felt relief from the symptoms I was experiencing. I KNOW that prayers are answered!

Today, I am so thankful for the power of prayer.

Thankful-day nine

After a long, busy day, I am so very thankful for my soft, warm bed to climb in to tonight.

*It's very tricky to take a picture of yourself in bed! :)

Day Six- Sunshine in my Soul Today!

Stormy weather is just around the corner. The sunny warm days are quickly coming to an end. So today, I am thankful for one last sunny, warm morning. Today's sunrise was especially beautiful!

A special note to Mr. Sun,

Please don't be a stranger. Know that you are welcome to enter through my windows any day of the week. Don't feel silly if it's the middle of Winter and you want to warm things up a bit down here. It may be unusual, but certainly not improper. Don't be afraid to mix things up a bit. I will welcome you with open arms!

See you soon?
Love,

Thankful for friends

Two days a week, I get to have this friend to myself for one whole hour while we walk the streets of our neighborhood. And for that hour, we talk non-stop, solving the world's problems. We figure out life's mysteries, and those we can't figure out that day, we save for another.

She is wise, thoughtful, loyal, and so beautiful in every way! She makes exercising something that I completely look forward to.

Today I am thankful for friends like Christy.

*Please forgive me for sneaking a shot of you this morning :)

Thankful- day four

For eight hours every week I get to be a small part of what goes on here.

The third floor.

I love the energy of this place, the healing happens.

Each day is different, each hour, each minute. Different stories, different circumstances of why the patients are here. Each is unique, but yet the same. They all need to heal. I love being a part of that.

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve.

For me?

It's been a long week. Studying for a biggie test in patho sucked the life out of me. I felt drained. Mentally and physically.

So Wednesday morning after the test was over, I decided to take my friend's advice to do something nice for myself. She frequently reminds me to do this- she is so wise.

So, this is how nice to myself I was....

First, I drove to the D.I. and dropped off the car load of stuff that had been in there for over a week just waiting for me to have a few minutes to do it. It felt so good!

Then, I stopped at a store and bought this cute jacket for a steal....

and this darling scarf......I wish the picture was better, the colors are so pretty and bright!
and then I put them together. Don't you love the background in this picture? Nice.
I do have to say that I'm not advocating that you run out and spend money on yourself, although every once in awhile it is fun to do that too, but when you do something nice for yourself, you will find that a happier you it will make!

So I pass my friend's advice on to you- the next time you find that you're feeling spent, make sure to be good to you. It can be as simple as giving yourself time to read a favorite book, going on a leisurely walk, curling up in bed and watching your favorite TV show, taking a nap, or even buying yourself a little something. And the most important thing- it's a MUST- do this with no guilt attached!

Sore

Erik bought the P90X DVD's.

He asked me if I wanted to join him.

I couldn't let him show me up.

Cuz I'm in way better shape than him.

I lasted until halfway through the lunges.

He lasted a full 10 minutes longer than me.

Two days later, I still need help getting up off the potty.

As for Erik. He's moved on to disc two.

I'm just going to stick to walking.

Ouch.

Friends

A few months after moving into our first home, I was attending choir practice when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to the woman behind me, who introduced herself as Wendy. She said that she wanted me to know that if I ever needed a babysitter, she had a daughter who would more than love to watch our little Nicole.

A week later our family was invited over to Wendy's house for dinner. And to this day, 16 years later, she remains one of my dearest friends.

Wendy was and still is a woman who always had much to do, but she made you feel like you were the best part of her day when you stopped by to visit.

Nicole and I would often find ourselves walking a few houses down to Wendy's house to spend the afternoon. I would sit at her kitchen table while she loaded the dishwasher, ironed a pile of laundry, or mopped her kitchen floor.

The whole time she would happily visit with me, listening to what was going on in my life, and would often share her wise opinion with me. Wendy is 11 years my senior and I always looked to her for advice (and still do!).

We spent eight very happy years being neighbors to our dear friends. There were many dinners shared, game nights, movies watched and even a few camping trips. We were treated as family and were invited to many of their extended family events and came to know and love them as well.

I still remember the day we told them we were moving to another house, to another part of the valley. I tried to reassure Wendy, who had tears in her eyes, that we would still be close and would remain dear friends forever.

She wisely said, "It's just not the same."

I look back on that time with such fondness, wondering sometimes why we ever chose to move. Life was simple back then. I seemed to have so much more time to sit and visit with friends.

I am happy to say though that we still remain dear friends. There have been times when our lives have gotten busy and we haven't been as good at keeping in touch as we should. But when we do, it's as if no time has passed since we last saw each other.

I am grateful today for dear friends. I have been blessed with a small number who hold that title. Some I get to see more often than others. But I think about them often and feel so very fortunate that they are part of my life.

Thank you my friends, for your love, your advice, your time, your smiles, your thoughtful gifts, your service, your texts, emails, and comments. I want you to know that I do not take any of these things for granted.

What would we do without friends?