There is very little in life that we value more than a true friend.  And if you are truly lucky in life, you get to have the privilege of having that true friend also be a member of your own family.

This afternoon some things happened that made for a really tough day emotionally. Toward the close of the day I pulled into my garage and began to cry alone in my car. Allowing myself to break down and cry is NOT something I let happen very often in my life.  I hate crying….like truly hate it. First of all, it never helps anything! Crying never makes anything better, not ever.  Second, it makes my eyes swell up like crazy and look horrible for days. I even get some sort of allergic reaction to my tears, no joke, where the skin around my eyes gets a red ring as if someone burned me with a branding iron. Oh, and I can’t forget the pounding headache that always comes after crying…so yeah, I seriously hate crying, and therefore I try to avoid it whenever possible in life.  The point is that it takes a lot for me to cry like that so I was definitely having a really rough moment. And what I did next was a sure sign of how badly I was hurting – I pulled out my phone to dial my mom.  Now, I love my mom with all my heart but I am not typically the girl that calls her mom to break down about something.  I just have never been that girl.  I am more of the “I’m tough and I can handle this all by myself” girl.  So I knew I was really hurting by the fact I resorted to calling my mom to cry to her.  Dang!  Not a happy moment.

My mom was a sweetheart.  She listened and then did her best to help me feel better.  As much as I hated that I was feeling so down, I really loved the fact that my mom was willing to be my friend and listen to me.  She wasn’t just my mom tonight, she was also my friend and that meant a lot.  We hung up the phone and I got out of my car and came into the house, mainly because by now it was imperative that I find a tissue so I could blow my nose 😉

As I plopped down on my couch my phone rang – it was my son Dalton.  He could immediately tell I was hurting.  He then proceeded to stay on the phone with me for the next 2 hours and 37 minutes…no joke…I literally looked it up on my cell phone log to see how long our call was and that is exactly how long it was.  At the start of the call he just listened and let me express what was causing my feelings of hurt.  Next he shared his feelings on the situation and he shared ideas on how to make things better.  Then he spent the next hour just making me laugh and sharing fun stories and making me forget why I was sad to begin with.  Now here is 21 year old kid down at college who had a million fun things he could have been off doing with his friends or a bunch of cute girls, and he spent a good part of his night trying to boost my spirits and make me feel better.  He is literally the best friend I could ever ask for in life. Even though he is my son, he is truly one of my very best friends and that is the biggest blessing I could ask for in life – To have family that is also my friend.

When family members can become your dearest friends it is the best feeling in the world. My hope is that one day I can develop that level of friendship with everyone in my family and extended family.  Family is so important and often we take family members for granted, assuming they already love us and will always be there, so we don’t put in the time needed to nurture those relationships enough to allow them to grow into friendships.  But if we are willing to take the time and truly be there for our family members we will find that there is no greater friendship in life than one who is also your family.

Well, I am off to soak my face in ice water and cucumber slices…can I just say it once more – I hate crying!!!!  So NO MORE!!!  It is smiley and happy again for me tomorrow – And I hope it’s smiley and happy for you too!!! Have a great one!

~Amy