So, I know I am very opinionated and many of my blogs tend to rant a bit about this or that. I am going to jump off my soap box and just show some love in this one. While life isn’t always easy and does spend plenty of time peeing in my cheerios, I am so beyond thankful for the friendships that I have been blessed with in this life. My friends are truly amazing and I honestly don’t even know where I would be some days without them. They carry me through so many obstacles, both big and small and help me see the light at the end of whatever tunnel I happen to be facing. They don’t treat any of my problems as “no big deal” even though sometimes they are in the grand scheme of life. I know which of my friends will always be there for me no matter what and those friends hold higher value than any riches a person could have. Today was no exception.
For those who have been keeping up on my posts, you know I have been dealing with random stresses lately…some bigger than others for sure. The problem is that sometimes the little ones don’t bother me much until they compound and then I end in a giant puddle of my own tears. I don’t always talk about things and deal with them like I should and I guess I internalize too much sometimes and feel that my problems are just that…my problems. I keep things to myself and just try to handle them until I get overwhelmed and down come the dominoes.
One of my main stresses lately has to do with my kids. This is one of those “no big deal” things in the big picture but has compounded and today was the overflow. So, responsibility…..evidently not a word in the common core being taught to children these days or something. Maybe puberty and all of that shuts their brains down at this age or their focus is just clouded by what their crushes wore to school that day….not really sure. Maybe it is the overstimulation of all the electronics that are constantly in their faces or brain damage caused by cell phone waves. It’s kind of like a tootsie pop I guess….”the world may never know”. Anyway, as was discussed in a previous post, my children have already this year missed the bus twice in the morning causing them to become a popular face in detention and causing me to have to drive them to school. Here is a side note of my stress….I make approximately 7,865 trips a week to the neighboring towns for sports, dance, trips to the store, doctors appointments, etc. I DO NOT look for reasons to make it 7,866. Ok…maybe my numbers are a bit excessive but you get my point and with todays math I can round to whatever number works for me so that’s what I’m going with. Secondly, I have a sleep disorder (yes..on top of everything else) and so I have medicine that helps me sleep. Sometimes by the time we get home from practice or a game, eat dinner, the kids both shower, and I get a uniform or something washed that’s needed for the following day it is one or two in the morning. I take my medicine and go to bed and it is not out of my system completely by the time they need to be driven to school. I would never drive if I didn’t feel I was alert enough to, but it would technically still be in my system. So, when they miss the bus this is also a factor.
Today, after me already being frustrated with my kids for these instances, I get a call from my son after school saying he missed the bus home. My daughter had dance tonight and so I was already going to have to drive her to and from that in the evening so of course I wanted to make an extra trip at 3:00 because it’s my joy in life. This would mean I either kill time for three hours before her dance class or drive back home and back down again in a couple of hours. Here’s where the friends come in. I messaged a few that live in town to see if he could chill at one of their houses and work on his homework until I needed to be down there which would save me an extra trip back and forth. Within minutes, I had three people offering to help me out with letting him stay and another offering suggestions for an alternative ride home. There was no hesitation even though not one of those friends was at their house themselves. Their kids were at home, but they were still at work or had other things going on. Still, they were perfectly fine with my son spending several hours at their house to keep him safe and save me frustration. This may not seem like much, but to me it is huge. Those same people help me with rides for my kids when they are both going in different directions for activities or sports and my husband is on the road for work. They are there to listen and offer a hug or thoughtful gesture when life seems to be getting the best of me. They message just to see how I’m doing from time to time and to let me know they are thinking about me or praying for me.
During my hospitalizations, my friends got my family through it. They were there for my husband to help him with all the “mom” duties. They brought food, offered rides, kept the kids, prayed for my family, and so much more. They all have their own lives and are obviously not at my beck and call, but I know when the going gets tough who I can count on. The selflessness that I am shown by these people that I am lucky enough to call friends is heartwarming. The beauty of it is that they ask nothing in return. I, of course, try to reciprocate whenever possible but they don’t expect it. They do these things because they care and because they are incredible people with genuine hearts. They are the people who help you move just to make it a bit less work. They help you sort things out when big decisions arise and they have some expertise in the area. They take their own time and give it to you with no expectation of any gain for themselves. I believe that true friends are God’s earthly version of angels. They are such a blessing and a gift that should not be taken lightly. I tell my kids all the time that if you have just one true friend that is all you really need. One true friend is better than a million acquaintances. I am so richly blessed with several of these angels in my life. I could never repay the kindness that they have shown me on so many occasions. I can simply say, “Thank you”, knowing that those simple words could never express what I feel or how grateful I am for our friendship:)