friends

craig said to me last night: "lately i've felt like i want to move...to a new house or a new city. either one. i think it's because i've moved every year for a long time. it could also be that i don't have any good friends here." that got me thinking. besides being true that we have both moved every year for the past several years, it is also true that neither he nor i have a close friend here in savannah yet. we have some friends, yes, but none that i would call when i'm feeling down. none that craig can really just watch sports with and confide in. there are potential close friends; friendships that could be cultivated into something great and hopefully they will be, but when it comes down to it, craig and i are all we've got. and benjamin of course, who is a good listener, but doesn't add much to the conversation yet. part of our lack of bosom buddies is our own fault. we are both fairly introverted and can function just fine with only each other for quite some time. moreover, we are new(ish) parents and are still adjusting to putting benjamin's needs first. our son goes to bed at night between 6:30 and 7, so we can't even have dinner over at another couple's house really. i should've joined a mother's group a while ago but i still haven't done it (but i hope to), and craig spends all his time at his church and with church people, who, great as they may be, just can't be your best friends.

i have such wonderful friends from my college days. from that hodge-podge of people at berry college, i found myself linked with the most extraordinary men and women. many of them i became closer too after graduation. my best friend and the funniest person i know, rachel, was a freshmen and i a senior when we met. not the best recipe for continuing a friendship considering i was about to graduate, but eight, count e'm, eight years later, i still talk to her more than any other friend and still consider her my best friend. my singing partner for five years, erin, is one of the most original people i've ever known and i learned about being true to oneself and sincerity in friendships from her. there's shannon, who, as she talks with you, does her own commercials, and is probably the smartest woman i've met so far. alyssa, with her quiet strength and despite her questions and doubts, is the first person i want to talk to when i feel i'm having faith issues. emily with her surety and beauty, intelligence and empathy, is the girl who pulled me through the first rough months in nashville and i am so sad we rarely talk anymore, but i still love and think of her. bethany with her consistency, humor, empathy, and talent, reminds me of the simple joys of friends and family. i've always loved the way she loves her friends and family. many of you may not know these great women, but i do and i count myself blessed and lucky to know them still. i hope you all know, despite our scattered communication, how much you have meant and still mean to me in my life.

despite my possibly lonely current state, i have hope. hope that my friends of old will forever be my friends. hope that new friends may come my way. and thankfulness for the friends i have known and the family i have, many of whom are my friends too. sara, you were my sanity during those first months of motherhood, literally. i can't think you enough for always listening to me and giving me comfort. brandon, i look up to you more than you probably know. i admire, respect and love you. as a true little sister, i can gladly regard my big brother as someone i want to be like when i grow up. mom, thanks for always being there for me. despite the common, mother-daughter angst that can sometimes creep up, i'm glad you are my friend and i think you are a strong, interesting and capable woman. thanks to all of craig's family who have accepted me as one of their own with open arms.

and to craig, my love, my best friend, my partner: life with you is half as hard, and twice as good.