Friends ...

This year's Thanksgiving has been rather unique at our house. We didn't really do anything special ... we played outside, we worked, we baked Christmas cookies, we ate Mac & Cheese (oh yes, we did - homemade and delicious), and we watched a movie. With our family all being back under one roof tomorrow we wanted to delay our "feast" and celebration. However, reading everyone's notes, mails, and posts, I started to feel a bit sentimental ... reflections filled my thoughts ... and I couldn't stop thinking about the amazing friends I have in my life. Some are fairly new friends and others have been in my life for almost 30 years. Some live right around the corner and others live on the other side of the globe. Some speak English and some speak German (or Italian, or Spanish, or French, just to name a few others). Some are young and some are not so young.
One thing is for sure - I'm extremely thankful for all of my friends!

After several weeks of unpredictability and uncertainty, I have come to realize how blessed I actually am, to be surrounded by such caring, helpful, and uplifting friends ... friends who out of the blue call and offer to take my kids for dinner and arts and crafts ... friends who give up much of their precious time just to listen to my stories ... friends who send prayers ... friends who drop off a new dishwasher on my porch because they heard that my old one broke ... friends who don't judge me when I have to pull out of a vacation that has been planned for months ... friends who bring over dinner just because ... friends who help financially ... friends who call just to hear how things are going ... friends who repeatedly offer to babysit my kids ... friends who surround me with love ... friends who care ....

I could go on and on, and it already is a rather overwhelming list. The sad part is that it took me being "shaken" out of my predictable life routine to realize what wonderful and amazing people are all around me. I hope I will always remember this and never take friendships for granted. Thank you to all of my friends for their amazing friendship - you all truly inspire me!

Happy Thanksgiving!