Thoughts...

I didn't realize blogging was so difficult! I have so many thoughts going through my mind and I'd love to start jotting them down but it's hard to get them from my head to this page. I'm going to give it a try anyway. Today I'm thinking a lot about friendships. There are many people that I call my friend but very few that I am at all close to. My very best friend is Tera and she lives in Belgium. I was very sad when she first moved to Europe and was also convinced that our friendship would not last. We had been through a lot together in the few short years we'd known each other before she left but with the distance I couldn't imagine us staying too close. She's been there 9 years now and we are closer than ever! She is the first person I think of when I have exciting news to share or when I have a rough day. The distance has not effected us at all. If anything it has made me appreciate her even more. I have always said that she is the strongest woman I know and she really is. I just got home after spending 10 WONDERFUL days with her, which by the way, is the most time we have spent together in 9 years, and she truly amazed me again. When I met Tera she was a single mother attending college. Her son was sick all the time and in the hospital several times a year and through it all she was the best mom I've ever known and she had a 4.0! That's where my admiration for her began. She is creative, funny, outgoing, and like I said the best mom in the world!

When she met her husband and she decided to move to Europe, I was heartbroken and angry. I was happy she had found someone but I couldn't understand why he couldn't move here, why did she have to give up her Country, her life? Through the years we have seen each other as often as possible (which was not much but usually once a year) and I have been so happy for her as she is so happy with her life. I admired her courage to move to a new country, learn a new language and a very different way of life but until I still couldn't understand why she didn't come home. Once I went there myself and spent time with her I realized just how difficult the transition must have been for her. As always, she made it look easy tho! I suppose when you have the love of someone special like she does it would be easier. I'm so happy for her and I admire her so much more now. Living in Europe has been a blessing for her. She has found what I never believed in. True love. Love that last forever, no matter what. She has a beautiful family and even through her challenges, and believe me she has plenty, she stays strong. She is my inspiration. I'm sorry if this sounds totally corny but it is how I feel. When I am with her, or when she calls or emails me or whatever it is, I feel so unbelievably blessed to have her in my life. I'm SO LUCKY to have someone like her to look up to, to share my feelings with, to laugh with and certainly to cry with. Thank you Tera for this wonderful gift of friendship that you have given and continue to give me everyday for without it I would not be whole.