Birthdays and Buddies

Birthdays are a wondrous thing. They are a celebration of the completion of yet another year in a person's life. For some, it is the end of a chapter, a saga, a cycle; for others, it is the beginning. Last night I celebrated the birth of one of my very best friends, and I realized an important thing: there is something magical in ringing in a new phase of a friend's journey and being able to witness the moment before your eyes. Sometimes, it comes as an obvious realization. Maybe a conversation happens where the two of you talk for hours and hours about what is yet to come down the road. You look back and remember how far you both have traveled and how much there still is to do together. Other times, it is a subtle nudging, a gentle breeze that tickles your nose and makes you stop for just a moment. That was my experience.

At just about midnight as I was nodding off, I took one final look around the room to see my two friends fast asleep and a sigh of contentment escaped my lips. I couldn't help but feel that all was right in the world as long as we had each other. Some may call that cheesy... I call that friendship. The three of us have changed and grown in so many different ways and in kind of opposite directions, but every time we get together there is ALWAYS a feeling of coming home. Sure, we do all of the things typical girlfriends love to do- we giggle...a  lot..., we have tickle fights, we talk about boys, we eat junk food, we bake, we have sleepovers, get togethers, swim parties, barbecues, you name it, we have done it or plan to do it. But we are so much more than that. We love each other unconditionally, we fight, we grow, we move on, we learn from one another, we speak wisdom into each other's lives, and we encourage one another. We are family.

So today, I not only celebrate the birth of a friend 19 years ago, but I am celebrating the gift that she is to me. The gift that both my best friends are to me. Now let's go eat some cake :).


Always,
A Hungry Heart