To you, my dear friend~

I, without a doubt, have some of the best friends in the world, and I want to go on record publicly to just tell you that. There are many different parts of my life, as everyone has!, with career, congregational, high school, college, family oriented, and just people in general that came into your life and stayed. We have such fun sharing, comparing, crying, laughing, eating!!!!, shopping, you name it~we enjoy it. My daughters. Thank you for not only being the best parts of me, but for also being three of my dearest friends. My brother, Nelson, you are a keeper of the bad times, the good times, and the promise of great things to come. Johnny. How would I describe you? Every dream I ever wanted all wrapped up in one man. We've come so far, through so much, and yet I still get that tight feeling in my tummy when you enter a room. I pray our daughters still find that with their men after twenty-five years of marriage. And the list goes on and on. Some of my students have grown to be some of my sweetest friends that remind me of the laughter we shared as they grew up (KristenKracker, Heather, tight hugs!); friends of friends (i.e., Susanne, Kelly, I'm talking to you!) that I can't wait to meet and get to know better!; parents that have taken me under their wing (Lynne, I miss them so, too); friends that have come into my life because of the accident; etc., etc., you get the picture. Maybe dying did intensify the feelings, but I've always so appreciated the fact that no matter what I needed, when I needed it, it would have been impossible to count the ones that would have been there to see me through. This post is for you, for all of you that make my life richer and a happier place to be~may He hold you tight within His arms until we rejoice with Him one day past the Garden that was so beautiful~