I rarely give titles to friends like, "BFF" or "Best Friend" or anything like that. I don't want to make a relationship I have with someone else seem less important to me, by labeling or defining one relationship as such. My sister is one of my very best friends. She has, at times, even been another mother to me. I don't know what I would do without her. My husbands cousins, Heather and Michelle......they are my softness. They remind me of my eternal goals, and help me to calm down and be softer with others just by their example. Amanda, she is my spitfire, and my backbone, almost. She isn't afraid to stand up to anyone, all 5'2" of her. HA! (I'm not actually sure of her height, but compared to my 6'0" self, she's a midget. HA!) That would explain why she's a good attorney. She is confident in all of her decisions and is strong in her convictions. I have so many good friends, some old and some new, and each has a special place. When you become my friend, you are my family. Each friend holds a different role in my life, and I need each and every one of them. Each friend I have is SO important to me. Which is why it is hard to give that title away so easily. Each friend is a "best friend" of sorts, and I love them dearly.
A little over 4 years ago, when I moved to Summerlin, I was about five months pregnant with our fourth child, Eleanor. Only a few weeks after moving, I was sitting in front of our bishop as he was calling me to be the Second Counselor in the Young Women's presidency, in the Desert Breeze Ward. I was shocked. I didn't know these people, I didn't know how I was going to try to relate to a bunch of teenagers, and being in the presidency, or in charge, of anything was completely overwhelming and uncomfortable. But, I never say no to a calling, and I wasn't about to start now. So, as I was being set a part, I cried. HA! They thought it was because I was hormonal, but I was really just scared out of my mind. HA! The next Sunday, I walked into Young Women's. This cute lady, who was only a bit shorter than me, brown hair, GORGEOUS eyes, and a fabulous smile introduced herself, and I immediately forgot her name, and everyone else's names. Thank heavens there was another new person there, that was called to be the First Counselor, because then I wasn't the only unsure new person with these teenagers. HA! The other new person, Gaylene, introduced herself after I did, and she was equally as nervous and unsure of her fit in this calling, but she was just as sweet as she could be. As the lesson got started, a member of the bishopric came in and sat down on a seat next to the Young Women's President, in front of the boys and the girls, and proceeded to speak with them about appropriate behavior during dates and keeping yourself pure until marriage. I had settled in for an uneventful first day in the presidency when all of the sudden, this woman, who was the Young Women's President tells the kids that making out and touching each other was off limits, and what it can all lead to. Lets just say, she didn't put it exactly the way I put it. I was a bit more red faced and embarrassed the way she put it. I remember looking at Gaylene and saying, "Is this happening right now? Did she just say that?! Can you say that?" HAHA! We were hooked after that. We had to know what other things this woman was going to say to these kids! HAHA! And I loved her instantly.
I hadn't really clicked with either lady really, as they were a little bit older than I was, and I wasn't sure what we would have in common, so I focused mostly on the girls and building good relationships with them. I just fell in love with those girls. The day that I lost Ellie, I knew that I wanted to let someone at church know, so that we could get the help we really needed, especially at first. The only number I had was the Young Women's President that I served with, Amy. I laid in the hospital bed, and sent her a text, knowing that she was probably at church and wouldn't get it until later. She replied right away, and asked if she could come and visit us. I was nervous, but I agreed. This woman came, and brought the Bishop and his wife with her. She brought a bag of all kinds of things: tissue, lots of tissue, maxi pads, snacks and anything else she could fit in there. She brought a chair over to the bed, and sat and looked at my sweet baby girl, and only complimented me on how perfect she looked. I was so moved that the Bishop, his wife and this woman whom I only knew as an acquaintance would come and visit me and take this much time with me. This isn't an easy situation to walk into, and they walked in fearlessly and full of love.
 |
| Right after church basketball, our first year! (Never mind the goofball look on my face. I promise I wasn't drunk. HAHA!) |
In the few weeks that had passed, Amy and Gaylene were at our house all of the time, bringing treats, cards and some of the young women with her, to try and comfort me, and lift me up. I came to rely on these women so much, and over time, as their own lives became hectic and trials came about, I became that for them. I loved our relationship.
Amy and I clicked pretty quickly during this time because of her heart. She is very good at always supporting people and just making sure that everyone feels included and loved. I just loved her, and saw how amazing her heart was, and I just wanted to know her better. She had expressed an interest in walking again, and I jumped. I also wanted to get in better shape, so I said I would love to walk with her. We fell into a routine, and while walking, we got to talk and get to know each other very very well. It was, and still is, during those walks that our best therapy sessions are had. HAHA!
Over time, this very special woman has earned the title of "Best Friend", outside of my sister. I love her so much. My sister, and Amy have taken the brunt of the last 4 years, and all of the ups and downs, and has hung in there, never wavering on their love for me. Amy has walked with me for hours, listening to me go on and on and on about the same problem, just patiently waiting for it to click in my mind what I need to be doing. She has always reminded me of my eternal purpose. She has always reminded me of who I am. She, through her example, has shown me what kind of woman I would like to become, and how to do that. She has been my shoulder to cry on, my slap in the face when I'm having a crazy moment, my dealer when I need a Dr. Pepper fix, and my hug when I just need one (her hugs are EPIC!). Her relationship with her 4 sons is just a beautiful thing to see, and just melts my heart every time I see them together. They adore their mother, and you can tell just by watching them with her. This woman is not only beautiful, inside and out, but incredibly funny, sweet, kind, smart, loving, honest, vibrant, accepting, soft, joyful, one of the best mothers I know, and always willing to roll up her sleeves and do whatever needs to be done. She speaks her mind, will yell at ya when you deserve it......like when I critique her eating, and she's trying to lose weight.....She knows who she is, where she is going, and is going to make sure that she can help as many people along the way, to get there too, as she can. She also knows how to have fun while she's getting there. She is the funniest, silliest, quirkiest women I know. She is never afraid to be who she is, and I love that about her.
My photo for the week is:
 |
| Isn't she adorable?! |
This photo took some work, and patience to get. I have been wanting to get a photo with her for over a year now, but it never works out. HA! I don't get a lot of opportunity to get a photo with her, since usually when I see her, we look like this:
I have been trying to think of a way to get a photo with her, because I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I just couldn't use a dorky cell phone photo as the one for this very special lady. I was invited to her oldest sons wedding a little while back, which was incredibly special, and I was so excited to see. Everyone was taking photos outside of the temple, and I had my camera with me. Amy's dad wanted a photo of him with his kids, and I offered to do it for them. I was thinking this was perfect! She's here, she looks good, I look good, and I can sneak one in there! YAY ME! After we were done taking photos, I handed my camera off to Amy's sister, Angela, and asked her to take a photo of Amy and I. She got some pretty good photos, that pretty much describe our relationship (I owe her HUGE for getting these photos for me! Next time you're in town, pedicures on me....again!! HAHA!):
 |
| (Here she said something completely inappropriate, and I couldn't help myself. HA!) |
 |
| (This is her imitating me, I think. Brat.) |
I love this woman with all of my heart. She is my sanity at times, my love, my heart, my slap in the face when I need it, my soft kick in the butt when I need to do better, my sounding board, my example, my push when I need it, my encouragement, and all of my positive thoughts and energy. She keeps me smilin, and makes me an even better person that I ever thought I could be. She has given so much to me that I will never be able to explain to her, or repay her for. She is my best friend, and my sister. I am so grateful that I received the calling to serve with her and Gaylene. Not only did I just love my calling, and those girls, but I fell in love with the amazing women I served with, where we got to create a very special bond between the three of us that I will never forget, and will always mean so much to me. In that time, I gained a sweet, special, funny, lovely best friend, and I will continue to be grateful for that calling. I love my Amy-Loo!!
 |
| Love! |
No comments:
Post a Comment