{Day 10} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

Day #10

I am thankful...for my friends.
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I don't care what anyone says, EVERYONE needs friends, or even just one good, QUALITY, friend. 

I am one of those people that needs a friend(s). In high school, for me at least, it was all about how many friends you could have. It was about status and sacrificing yourself to do whatever it took to make ALL of your "friends" happy so they'd call you a friend but in the end, you were left alone, exhausted and unhappy. I wish as adults, we could teach our children the valuable lesson/difference between having a bunch of mediocre "friends" (or what I like to call "acquaintances") who don't even know your favorite color vs a few QUALITY friends that know almost everything about you. I can only hope that my daughter learns the value of having quality friendships. 

After you graduate high school, for most people it becomes a HUGE reality check and you're shown who your true friends are. When I graduated, there were quite a few "friends" that disappeared because they didn't want to make the extra effort to stay in touch because it was easier to see each other everyday and talk while we were in high school. I won't lie...it was heartbreaking to lose a lot of people that I considered friends. 

When I went to college, across the state, I lost a few more. Then I got married...and lost most of the single friends and the newest thing that made me lose one or two more friends was having a baby. It's never easy to lose friends, no matter how you lose them. And it NEVER gets any easier.

I thank God EVERY. SINGLE. DAY for each QUALITY friend that I have at this moment! I am BEYOND thankful that the friends that I still have are ones that are willing to fight (put in the effort) for my friendship just as much as I'm willing to fight for theirs! One of my favorite lines, that I often tell a lot of my friends looking for advice, "you have to put what you want into things, to get what you want out of them". You all may not know what my favorite color is, or I may not know what yours is, but the fact that I don't even have to think twice about picking up the phone to call any of you to talk....is priceless to me. 

You all mean that WORLD to me and I'm so thankful that all of you understand that just because we don't talk to each other every day or get to see each other as much as we'd like, we can still pick back up where we left off like no time has passed at all. QUALITY friendships are not always easy. You hit your bumps, your peaks, your valleys and then you climb mountains together. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and if people are meant to be in your life, then they'll be in your life. 

I'm thankful for my life long friends, my new friends, and the friends I've yet to meet in my life.  I'm thankful that ALL of you understand everything I've gone through, I'm thankful that you all understand that I go through hard times in my life where sometimes I'm not the greatest friend to you, I'm thankful that you support me no matter what.

To my amazing friends...you know who you are, I love you like you're family! I may not say it enough, but I cherish and appreciate your friendship more than words. I am thankful for you!