Wednesday, Oui?

When I arrived home from work last night, late per usual, I was in an incredibly foul mood. I'm not going to get into what kept me there so late, as I feel that I have been complaining about work a lot lately, but, rest assured I am taking most of next week off and boy-oh-boy do we have some plans. I will make it through until next Tuesday, I promise :)

Anyway, back to the point of the story. It's past 8:00pm, I'm in a foul mood, I just drove 30 minutes to get home, and as I come through the door I'm greeted by Aaron, my puppies, and a gift from a friend who has known me for the better part of my life.

I know I have mentioned before what great, amazing, special, thoughtful and wonderful friends I have. I can't say it enough. I'm truly, truly blessed to have the cohort of people in my life who love me no-matter-what, through thick and thin, and are just there; unconditionally. I have friends all across the country and a lot of my time is devoted to talking, emailing, texting, or "facebooking" the people who fill my life. I know, no matter what happens, I am not alone and that is such a comforting feeling. When something goes wrong there are a lot who are willing to listen, not just people who are 'there,' but people who know me inside and out and I can say ANYTHING, and that's okay with them. Having the people in my life that I do, has changed who I am, how I deal with things, and add so much to my relationships.

I know I always have Aaron to lean on, but sometimes I want something/someone else. Don't get me wrong, Aaron is great. Aaron LOVES me more than anything. Aaron listens, without judgement, and Aaron is always ready to go to bat for me. But the great thing about my friends? They all have different personalities; they have different perspectives. I love that and I need that in my life. I know the answer Aaron gives me is going to be from a place of love, a place of wanting me to be happy. With friends, they want that too, but sometimes I can get the "hard truth" from them a bit more easily than I can from Aaron.

For instance, Aaron would "hide the body for me." This is a long standing joke with my girlfriends (especially J & H- you know who you are and I know you're reading.) We always joke that if I were to kill someone, Aaron would dispose of the body-- no questions asked-- and then comfort me, endlessly, to make sure I was okay from the experience of just killing someone. My girlfriends (and some of my guy-friends) on the other hand, would hide the body but would make my sorry ass lift the thing into the trunk and probably harass me the entire time we were disposing of the thing. To be honest, sometimes, I need that.

One of those people is my friend Steph. I know I have written about her several times on this blog, but not enough can be said about Steph. I have known her since high school and although we have both moved all over the place, we still have managed to keep in touch for the past, oh about, 12-13 years.

Last night, just when I was having an internal meltdown, there was a box from her. I knew the handwriting immediately and I thought, what on earth did I get from Steph? It's not my birthday for a few more months, no special occasions, hmmm?

I tore it open, so excited to find what was inside. I had no clue and, to be honest, I would have been happy with an empty box from Steph. But inside was the most incredible journal I have seen! She left a small note, "I saw this and HAD to get it for you, Love Steph." Just like that my night was new, I was quickly reminded that my career is NOT my life. My life is filled with wonderful friends who are more like family to me.

Steph knows what writing means to me. She knows that I need to have an outlet, and I'm sure she knows me well enough to know that this public forum is just the tip of what I document about my life. I certainly don't put the bad and ugly here, but I don't put all the good either. Some of the most wonderful, intimate, humbling, and amazing details are things I would never, ever share with the rest of the world. So many exchanges between my family and myself, Aaron and I, my friends, my clients... never see the public world, but I do keep them close to me in the form of journaling. Steph knows this, knows me, and sent me a wonderful gift.

Steph,

I know I already sent you a thank-you e-mail, but you MADE my night last night. Knowing you, you probably picked up that journal on the fly, thinking it would be a nice gesture. To me, it was so much more. You are one of the best friends I have, I miss you, I love you, and I am so grateful you're in my life. I can't think of memories from my past that don't include you (some really funny ones especially.) I adore you and appreciate, so much, your unconditional friendship.

XOXO,
Me