Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Lifers

So all morning I have been thinking about friends. I once heard about this girl who on her way to college told all her high school friends she planned on really jumping into the college life and trying to make new friends. At first when I heard this, my reaction was kind of put off. Really? You have to drop your old friends in order to make new ones? Yeah, okay.  Prick. 
As many of you know, I didn't attend college but went to a one year trade school to become a professional nanny. So when I think about that this girls logic,  I get it to a degree about branching out and blah blah, but how does that fit me?  I have heard on numerous occasions that you make your best friends in college. So again I asked myself, did I miss out on more than just the degree in not going to college? I have gone through moments over the years where I look and think, all my good friends are from high school.. Does that mean I am "living in the past?" Or "will I never get past the good old days because I haven't made new lifelong friends?" Now please understand, I have met some of thee most incredible people since high school that I cherish so very dearly. I am talking more about those lifelong friends who stay in your life through all seasons of good, bad and ugly. So today as I was thinking about my dear friends I saw this weekend when I went home, my mind really dug into who we are today and how far we ve come. And this is where I see a flaw in the girls logic of leaving her past behind. These women I went to high school with are not the same girls they were then. They have all grown and changed over the years and stand here today in the same skin(some of it stretched way out in the belly region! 😃) but not the same mind or soul. I looked at the picture taken below and I no longer see my teammates on the basketball team or classmates in pre calc. I see a group of women in the prime of their lives who are seasoned beings of society. A wife&mother, a teacher, a nurse, a vet student, a caregiver, a dialysis tech. Sticking with these girls and being with them as they grow and make mistakes has been one of the best parts of our friendships. I look at all the friends I have today from high school and just laugh. Some of them I have only become friends with in the last couple years. (It is amazing to me the relationship I have with people I barely spoke to in high school.) Others have known me for my very worst and somehow still talk to me today. What if I hadn't kept them in my life? What if I just let them fade? I don't think I would be the same person without each and every one of them. I believe God places people in your life for seasons and others are "lifers." I have been blessed with such an array of friend across my life living just down the road to all the way in Norway. This is my point, sometimes when you stick with something and maintain it, the results may just be one of life's greatest blessings. Put in the time. It is worth it. To all the people who have put up with all my shenanigans all these years and to those who just jumped on board and get to experience it, here is to you!! 

Friday, January 10, 2014

Memories

Whenever I pull up my blog to write a post, I am always amused to read my title "These Are A few of My Favorite Things." It reminds me to try and write of something positive instead of going on a rant. It reminds me to take a breath and evaluate before jumping in because the purpose is to write of my favorite things. So on this day, one of my favorite things are memories. Memories cover the full range of emotions of the human spectrum. Memories allow us to recall history and instill new traditions. Memories serve as lessons, reminders and encouragement. Sometimes even as inspiration or nostalgia. Memories are great. For some of us, memories are all we have left of loved ones who have passed away or lost in tragedy. Today in particular, I love memories for the latter reason. 11 years. Whoa. Last year at the decade mark, I was too busy to really even let it sink in that an entire decade, an amount of time referencing certain eras, had passed since my brother died. This year I honestly thought would just come and go. I would think back to that day so long ago when I had time and that d be it. Ha. Not so much. I used to think I could feel only two emotions, pain and indifference. If anyone has ever lost someone close to them and hasn't realized this yet,(it took me 10 years, so no worries!!) please hear me. There is more to it! You get to feel so much more. That's the glory of healing! Being in Omaha this past year has made me realize this. I automatically thought being here and driving by the hospital where we were told he was going to die was going to be painful. Remembering the nights spent in the Ronald McDonald House, not knowing what would happen next. Living just around the corner in the Old Market from his favorite restaurant. I just figured it'd all fit into the pain zone of my two part emotion scale. The memories would be painful and remind me he died. What surprised me was quite the opposite. I got new memories. Ones I had forgotten. Deja vu moments of driving in a certain area of Omaha and feeling the warm rush of "I have been here before.." And they all were with my brother. What I thought would bring me more pain ended up giving me more than I would have ever had if I had not ever come to Omaha. Memories are all I have of my big brother and after such a long time, they begin to fade. I have been blessed with new memories this past year and they have been beautiful. So what I found being in Omaha isn't that this is where we found out he was going to die, but how he has continued to live in my mind. Even after 11 years. Praise be to God for showing me such mercy. So any of you who have limited yourself to feel or not feel when it comes to memories, free yourself and maybe.. Just maybe you will be surprised. God works good through all things. Have a blessed Friday, my friends. Hug someone you love today. Call up someone you ve been in a fight with. Make sure those you love know it. Cheers! 
What are the chances of all my siblings, there happen to be a picture of Luke holding me as a baby?