Friends are gifts from God

You know, I've written a lot about me, about Daniel, about our journey together...and I'll say a little bit about us in this post, but this one is mainly gonna be about my friends. My friends are amazing, let me just say that. They will put up with me being bi-polar and excruciatingly sappy and all this stuff while Daniel has been gone, and that is something I don't let go unnoticed. I've had a few best-friend-dates over the past couple weeks, and I am SOO thankful for them. Every time I spend time with either of my best friends, I am reminded at just how blessed Daniel and  I to have them. For one, how many married couples can say that the friends they have are shared? I mean, thats how it has always been with Daniel and I. My best friend is good friends with him...his best friends are my best friends. I mean, we're such a tight-knit group... I wish we got to see each other more often though, and thats about to take a turn for the worse unfortunately. :(

I wish there was a way to express how i feel towards my friends. Words can't even begin to describe how thankful I am for them. I try to express in words, and it just never seems to be enough...for me. I want to show them how much they mean to us, but I just don't know how. lol. Its a great thing when you can talk to one of your friends and joke about certain things...or divulge in details that most others would cringe away from...and they don't think anything of it. They just laugh or give me advice in the best way they can. I try so hard to make sure that I am up to par with them. I want to be there for them...Both of my best friends have gone through some pretty rough situations over the past year, and I so wish I could have been there for them more than I was. If I had had any inkling of how awful things were, I would have been there in a heartbeat. But both of them are so strong, they tried to take it on by themselves. I hate that. It breaks my heart that I wasn't there for them. Either of them. :(  I know that they had their reasons for holding it in, doesn't make it any easier to think that i could have been there for them.

I love my friends. I cannot say that enough. The fact that God has blessed me with my ultimate best friend and husband, 2 extremely fantastic friends, and several other friends that are really good too...its just amazing. Most people say "well i only have 2 best friends, the rest are aquaintences" or "i have a lot of great friends, but not a single one is my best friend.." ya know? I'm grateful to have 3 best friends and several really good friends. :) Idk what it is in me... people say that its because I see the best in people and try very hard to please everyone...probably one of my best qualities and my worst. I have, in the past, had friends and a boyfriend who trampled all over me, because I let them. I was sooo eager to please and just wanted to make everyone happy...and i let them run me over hundred-fold. Now, thanks to my wonderful husband, I am so much stronger. I still try to make everyone happy, but if you are attempting to take adavantage of me? I WILL let you know. And I PROMISE to put you in your place. I have so much more confidence thanks to Daniel and my besties. It helps when you have a good support system. Which brings me to my next topic--weight loss.

I'm gonna be brief today with this because this is mainly about my friends...but this has something to do with my friends. lol. I have lost 10.4lbs over the last month and about 10 inches from my body. This is thanks to my wonderful husband, who still from BMT encourages me, enlightens me, and makes me push harder than ever before. It is also not without saying that my best friends have been there every step of the way (that they could). They encourage me, help me along, give me tips and tricks, and just remind me every day that Daniel's graduation is around the corner--which makes me push even harder. I've had a rollercoaster week (with going to Tuscaloosa last weekend and drinking and stuff on Friday..) but I still managed to lose weight this week. I was extremely happy when I got on the scale this morning. I wish Daniel would be able to call me today too so I could share my good news. I was able to tell him yesterday when he called that I bought my first pair of size 16 jeans. :D haven't done that since freshman year of high school some odd 9 years ago...wow i feel old.

That being said, without my friends I probably wouldn't have made it this far without losing my mind. Daniel's graduation is next week and I am SO ready for it. My friends have put up with all my bi-polar statuses on FB (one status saying "oh yeah i'm super pumped" to being "damn. i really miss my husband. :(") lol. they've also put up with me going on and on about how excited and ready I am for it. They are troopers! lol. but i guess it helped them to know that they'd only have to put up with it for 8.5 weeks... hahaha. Needless to say the BMT journey is coming to an end, and then Daniel and I will enter a new chapter--Tech School. We still have no idea where he will be going or what job he will have. They told him that he will not find out until the week of graduation. boooo.

anyways. Im gonna wrap this up by saying, cherish your friends--however close they are. They truly are a gift from God, and no matter what happens, they're always there for you. I thank God every day for them and I pray that I am there for them when they need it. If you are my friend, I love you. I am blessed to have you in my life. If you are my best friends,  you know who you are, I love you so incredibly much and I pray that you will never fear to tell me anything, I pray that you will always know that no matter how many miles are between us, I am ALWAYS there for you. 100%. I will do whatever I can to help you, if that just means sitting on the other end of the phone and listen to you cry it out, or if it means I can actually be there with you and hug you when you need it.

I love you, friend. Always.

-Beth-