Breathing back to normal.
And thankful for the moment to reflect on all the friendships I have been given.
I wrote at the beginning of this post that friends come in and out of our lives. But I need to write now that there are also the friends who come in and stay in. Forever. They don't leave, even if they are leaving. No matter where we live they are with us. Those are the ones you hold on to, and never let go. Do whatever it takes to be a good friend. Take care of those you love. I have been taken 'care' of just last weekend. I received a text from someone I'll save forever, last Saturday morning I spent running with some of my best friends, a bouquet of flowers showed up, a phone call right after getting up from a prayer, and the most divine loaf of fresh homemade bread was given to me one special Sunday morning. For some reason I have chosen the best family. For some reason they keep me around.
I'm just so relieved that my friend will still be around when I need her happy face! My hope is that if I were moving, someone, somewhere would feel the same about me.
I would not be me - without any of my friends. We need to be flooded with friends from different places and different walks of life. I know friends come in and out of our lives at the very time we need them to. Friends make you who you are almost as much as your family. In some cases, more. I have said that it took 24 years to find my twin, I can't imagine life without her. She has changed me. She knows me and loves me regardless of my many flaws. She is sunshine and strength.
I would not be me - without any of my friends. We need to be flooded with friends from different places and different walks of life. I know friends come in and out of our lives at the very time we need them to. Friends make you who you are almost as much as your family. In some cases, more. I have said that it took 24 years to find my twin, I can't imagine life without her. She has changed me. She knows me and loves me regardless of my many flaws. She is sunshine and strength.
Sister's can be a best friend, mine is. How blessed we have been to get to live with each other and share the things we did. There is a bond between us that no one else quite understands. We've been changing each other from the day she was born. She is safety and laughter.
My very best friend in the whole world I met when I was 15 and I am the luckiest person here to be able to spend everyday with him. Laugh every day with him. From the moment I met him there was light in my life. He is now my home. He is my rock. We continue to change together, for the better.
I knew them all before this life. They were sent to me when I needed them. They have changed me and made my life better. As so many other's have as well. I have friends from heaven right across the street, and around the corner. They are happiness! I get to go to dinner with women every month who are amazing mothers and wives. I learn so much from them. I have a friend I could call at any moment and instantly be changed and feel better about life even after not seeing her for months. Who would have thought that a girl I met at Classic Roller Skating in elementary school would have such an impact on my life. She knows things about me no one else does, and I know that no one ever will. I would never imagine going to Sawyer Brown without her! She's carried me more times than I can count.
So this day I want to blog about all the different flavors of friends....
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS: So these friends include those you think of back when you were 5 and start out playing dolls, capture the flag, football, soccer, having sleepovers and giving the old double dog dares. My first friend ever was Billy Fronce. He started the long list over there at Golden Willow Drive. Along with Dixie, Jenn, Kim, Micky, Candice, Jeff, Rainey, Seth, Sunshine and the 'Rocker'. They were all involved in a little doorbell ditching with me a time or two. We fed Dixie worms and potato bug sandwich's and we all met every morning at the bus stop! Some of my best childhood memories are with them.
SCHOOL FRIENDS: In elementary school you meet all different kinds of people. Those who you remember the most bizarre things about. Like the girl who liked to hold hands with everyone, or the girl who would get mad if you barely moved your foot playing hopscotch, or how the one boy folded the cuff of his pants, or how one boy ran with his fingers straight because it supposedly made him faster. In second grade I met Jamie. Our elementary days were never the same and I felt like I met the person I would spend endless days and nights together. We did just that. She was my partner in crime for 10 years! This list could go on and on but she was most important.
TEENAGE FRIENDS: These little friends I think change us the most in our youth. Their families can have just as huge of an influence on us as they can. These are the friends that make me the most nervous and excited about who Alec chooses in the next few years! So far, so good, as far as I can tell. I still had my Jamie but I met Corbie, Lisa, Mindy, Amy, Trina, Brook, Sam, Shalise, and so many more during these years. I went on vacation with them, fought with them, got in trouble with them, cried with them, and still have hundreds of letters with their names at the bottom! They changed my life a little, and some, a lot. You could find us making Orange Julius and singing 'The Judd's' at Deuels house or having perfume fights at Fred Meyer. The boys we hung out with have just as much influence on my life as those girls. It's seems strange that I look back on the moms of those boys and know exactly who I want to be more like now, so that I can have that influence on my own boys. We all went from Mt. Jordan Middle to the torn down Jordan. I am so thankful I went to a smaller High School. I feel like we were closer and we knew everyone! Even now when someone asks if I remember someone from Jordan High, I almost always do. I love the memories I have of my teenage friends, I cherish them, all of them.
I knew them all before this life. They were sent to me when I needed them. They have changed me and made my life better. As so many other's have as well. I have friends from heaven right across the street, and around the corner. They are happiness! I get to go to dinner with women every month who are amazing mothers and wives. I learn so much from them. I have a friend I could call at any moment and instantly be changed and feel better about life even after not seeing her for months. Who would have thought that a girl I met at Classic Roller Skating in elementary school would have such an impact on my life. She knows things about me no one else does, and I know that no one ever will. I would never imagine going to Sawyer Brown without her! She's carried me more times than I can count.
So this day I want to blog about all the different flavors of friends....
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS: So these friends include those you think of back when you were 5 and start out playing dolls, capture the flag, football, soccer, having sleepovers and giving the old double dog dares. My first friend ever was Billy Fronce. He started the long list over there at Golden Willow Drive. Along with Dixie, Jenn, Kim, Micky, Candice, Jeff, Rainey, Seth, Sunshine and the 'Rocker'. They were all involved in a little doorbell ditching with me a time or two. We fed Dixie worms and potato bug sandwich's and we all met every morning at the bus stop! Some of my best childhood memories are with them.
SCHOOL FRIENDS: In elementary school you meet all different kinds of people. Those who you remember the most bizarre things about. Like the girl who liked to hold hands with everyone, or the girl who would get mad if you barely moved your foot playing hopscotch, or how the one boy folded the cuff of his pants, or how one boy ran with his fingers straight because it supposedly made him faster. In second grade I met Jamie. Our elementary days were never the same and I felt like I met the person I would spend endless days and nights together. We did just that. She was my partner in crime for 10 years! This list could go on and on but she was most important.
TEENAGE FRIENDS: These little friends I think change us the most in our youth. Their families can have just as huge of an influence on us as they can. These are the friends that make me the most nervous and excited about who Alec chooses in the next few years! So far, so good, as far as I can tell. I still had my Jamie but I met Corbie, Lisa, Mindy, Amy, Trina, Brook, Sam, Shalise, and so many more during these years. I went on vacation with them, fought with them, got in trouble with them, cried with them, and still have hundreds of letters with their names at the bottom! They changed my life a little, and some, a lot. You could find us making Orange Julius and singing 'The Judd's' at Deuels house or having perfume fights at Fred Meyer. The boys we hung out with have just as much influence on my life as those girls. It's seems strange that I look back on the moms of those boys and know exactly who I want to be more like now, so that I can have that influence on my own boys. We all went from Mt. Jordan Middle to the torn down Jordan. I am so thankful I went to a smaller High School. I feel like we were closer and we knew everyone! Even now when someone asks if I remember someone from Jordan High, I almost always do. I love the memories I have of my teenage friends, I cherish them, all of them.
WORK FRIENDS: When you get out of high school and start life, many come your way with each new job. My most favorite friend from work has the same name as me. I don't know if she realizes what an influence she had on me. She was a little older than me, and I remember wanting so many of the things she had. The biggest, being a testimony and a clean car! Robyn - or 'Bob' will stay with me forever. My latest job at The Buckle provided me some new fabulous friends as well. My tall sister, Erika, and my favorite Elle were also stuck right in my life - right at the right time!
SPORTS FRIENDS: I played a couple sports with some pretty fantastic athlete's. Brook, Debbie, Jamie, Melissa, and so many more will always be family. When you are working together so hard towards the same goal it's very hard not to have a lasting influence on each other. I remember making promises to change so that we could win. Or challenging each other in different ways so that we could be successful. Every Monday during soccer season our Senior year we spent at GodFather's Pizza with every member of our team. We tried to out eat each other, which I may have won a time or two...that dessert pizza was heaven! When we won the State Championship those girls became stuck in my heart. They'll never leave. Basketball friends from then and now continue to change me. Just last year I met the most fabulous women, who also play a little ball. Another blessing at just the right moment. I can't imagine having them taken away now that I know each of them.
FOREVER FRIENDS: I moved into my first house in 1997. It was there in Sandy that I met my forever friends. It's amazing that every single month we still go to dinner for our birthday's. We have had countless babies, play dates, park days, Park City days, swimming adventures, and laughs together. Including last Wednesday night, when we talked in the parking lot for over an hour after we walked out. We continue to grow and strengthen each other. There was something about that little hidden area that brought us all together. We have all since moved from that neighborhood, but will never forget how living there brought us together. Tawny, Natalie, Nancy, Danielle, Lisa, Jolee, Tara, and Janet...I love you.
FRIENDS FROM HEAVEN: I remember praying to know whether or not we should move to this house. The decision was from heaven. This is why I call these women my friends from heaven. The first being the lady across the street! How quickly both of us knew that we were suppose to find each other. Around a few corners are the others! Michelle, Heather, Kelly, Amber, and Julia have changed me in ways they will never realize. Well maybe they will, because I will keep telling them! We have secret codes that we can use at anytime, at any moment, and know that we will do anything for each other. We have been through sickness, death, loss of jobs, family sickness, family crazy's, divorce, kid trouble and much more. They are my sisters. As a bonus, I think our husbands adore each other just as much as we do! A diet coke, chocolate or shopping bring us together often! How blessed I am to have them so close. Truly, so blessed. We have come to realize that we can never again live apart. If one moves, we all move.
There are church friends, neighborhood friends,and mom's at school friends. You become friends with the mom's on your kids teams and the dance mom's. We have 'bunko' friends, on line or blogging friends, friends of a friend friends, and the wives of husband's friends. There are so many who have an influence on us, without knowing they do. This, to me, is a beautiful part of being alive. A perfect plan. We never know the timing when one will come in, change us, and just as quick - one will leave, and change us again.
So here's to you, If you have a friend, If you are a friend, If you need a friend. We are all in this together - to unburden each other if there is any way we can. When something inside you says to do something for someone else. Do it. Don't wait to be the light in someone's life. Be the friend everyone wants. Thank you for being in my life no matter if it's a little in my life or a lot in my life. I need you. Like the song says, you have changed me for good.
SPORTS FRIENDS: I played a couple sports with some pretty fantastic athlete's. Brook, Debbie, Jamie, Melissa, and so many more will always be family. When you are working together so hard towards the same goal it's very hard not to have a lasting influence on each other. I remember making promises to change so that we could win. Or challenging each other in different ways so that we could be successful. Every Monday during soccer season our Senior year we spent at GodFather's Pizza with every member of our team. We tried to out eat each other, which I may have won a time or two...that dessert pizza was heaven! When we won the State Championship those girls became stuck in my heart. They'll never leave. Basketball friends from then and now continue to change me. Just last year I met the most fabulous women, who also play a little ball. Another blessing at just the right moment. I can't imagine having them taken away now that I know each of them.
FOREVER FRIENDS: I moved into my first house in 1997. It was there in Sandy that I met my forever friends. It's amazing that every single month we still go to dinner for our birthday's. We have had countless babies, play dates, park days, Park City days, swimming adventures, and laughs together. Including last Wednesday night, when we talked in the parking lot for over an hour after we walked out. We continue to grow and strengthen each other. There was something about that little hidden area that brought us all together. We have all since moved from that neighborhood, but will never forget how living there brought us together. Tawny, Natalie, Nancy, Danielle, Lisa, Jolee, Tara, and Janet...I love you.
FRIENDS FROM HEAVEN: I remember praying to know whether or not we should move to this house. The decision was from heaven. This is why I call these women my friends from heaven. The first being the lady across the street! How quickly both of us knew that we were suppose to find each other. Around a few corners are the others! Michelle, Heather, Kelly, Amber, and Julia have changed me in ways they will never realize. Well maybe they will, because I will keep telling them! We have secret codes that we can use at anytime, at any moment, and know that we will do anything for each other. We have been through sickness, death, loss of jobs, family sickness, family crazy's, divorce, kid trouble and much more. They are my sisters. As a bonus, I think our husbands adore each other just as much as we do! A diet coke, chocolate or shopping bring us together often! How blessed I am to have them so close. Truly, so blessed. We have come to realize that we can never again live apart. If one moves, we all move.
There are church friends, neighborhood friends,and mom's at school friends. You become friends with the mom's on your kids teams and the dance mom's. We have 'bunko' friends, on line or blogging friends, friends of a friend friends, and the wives of husband's friends. There are so many who have an influence on us, without knowing they do. This, to me, is a beautiful part of being alive. A perfect plan. We never know the timing when one will come in, change us, and just as quick - one will leave, and change us again.
So here's to you, If you have a friend, If you are a friend, If you need a friend. We are all in this together - to unburden each other if there is any way we can. When something inside you says to do something for someone else. Do it. Don't wait to be the light in someone's life. Be the friend everyone wants. Thank you for being in my life no matter if it's a little in my life or a lot in my life. I need you. Like the song says, you have changed me for good.
16 comments:
We are the lucky ones. YOU are the best!! I am so grateful to have you in my life. Love you!!
ROBYN!!
I LOVED this post, amazing is all I can say. Your such a WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL person. I LOVE reading your blog~ You inspire me in so many ways. I cannot believe how long it has been since high school and middle school.
I see Dawn in pic's on facebook and get to see what it is your doing, what beautiful women you are. I love ya. Your awesome.
Well, what is a girl to say to a post like that? And how am I to type through teary eyes while Dan Seals is playing in the background? There is no amount of money, no wordly possession I can ever imagine wanting more than the kind of friendship I found almost 25 years ago. It has survived weddings, and births, and deaths, and every trial, change, and struggle imaginable...and I know it will carry me through another 25 more of the same. Someone merciful knew I needed you so he arranged for me to be at Classic Skating one night - He works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?
Are you kidding me, I just read that at work with teary eyes, of joy! We are the lucky ones. Every time I read your blog, or even think about you, I'm so proud of you and what you have become. You are such an inspiration to me and I don't know what I would have done my whole life without you. You are an incredible wife, mother, sister, dauther and FRIEND! I wouldn't have made it through many things in life without you. I love you so much!
Beautifully written. I agree. I think I have so many groups of girlfriends because I don't have so many sisters. They are my family and you guys included. I have loved watching your family through the last 12 years and watching you grow. You inspire me and have overcome so much. Love ya!
My girl, my best friend and sister!
I am full on sobbing.... what a beautiful and amazing post..I don't know what to say because you said it soooo P E R F E C T L Y!!
True friends are a gift from God and I truly believe that. I believe we were meant to be friends forever. I knew that fateful day when I sat in our new ward and heard you speak about your family, I just cried. Big tears, your words touched me so much. I told Ry that day we would be best friends. It sounds so cheesy, but I needed YOU and Heavenly Father knew that. We moved to the Riverbottoms and it was not by chance we did.
Thank you for being who you are, for all you represent, for your light and your joy. You make MY life so much brighter and I am so blessed to have you in my life.
Thank you for all of the kind words and thoughts. You are amazing and I love you!!!!
..and YES, we are friends FOREVER. and ever. and ever and ever.... love you!
Robyn,
I just spend 1/2 hour reading your perfectly articulated post (when I should be showering) and it made me smile the whole time through. You wrote what so many people feel but don't put into words. It was really beautiful and the music was perfect.
My only complaint is that you left my name off your forever friends list...it's cuz I'm Mexican isn't it?
BTW, I loved your slide of pics, funny how our silly friend Tawny doesn't think she's a poser...
Heather - Lucky is the girl who gets to eat your homemade bread! That is ME my friend! You are truly the BEST!
Shalise - Thank you for such kind words! And thank you for making some pretty wonderful memories all those years ago!
Corb - Mysterious and perfect ways!
I mean it when I say that your text that bright and early morning made me the luckiest friend around, and changed the way I started looking at 'things'. Your words always have a way of making me feel like I can do this. Love you so, so much.
Jamie - My Jamie! You are ALL those wonderful things right back! How thankful I am to have so many memories with you. From laying out in the mountains to running the track at Hilcrest and SOOOOO much in between. You will NEVER leave this girl! Love you!
Nat - You will always be family to me! Thank you for being such a great example and thanks for moving four houses away from me all those years ago! Love you back.
Tawny - You knew then???? I knew when I saw you running past my house one day - I thought, "She's totally going to be my new friend!" Look at us! WE KNEW!!!
I think it was Him who knew we needed each other right then! We are now in this together, always. And thank goodness I found a fellow tall drink of water as my BFF!!!
Nancy - What the...how could I leave my best Mexican sister's name off the list. Of course you know you are absolutely part of my forever friends, pictures say so, and don't think you got off easy...your mine...dark beautiful skin and all! I love you Nanc and don't forget it!
Tawny was just teaching me how to stand in pictures! She knew I needed help!!!
So after sitting here for ten minutes I realize I'm just plain obnoxious and have nothing appropriate to add.
Your sincerity and openness have dissarmed me and all I'm left with is "great post".
Brohammas - Maybe something like "I wish I had me a tux/suit thing like Shaine Tripp is sporting in the Mt. Jordan picture of all of us!"
Good Times.
Thank you for being left with something so kind!!
Wow!! You are such a sweetheart, that is why you are blessed with so many different kinds of friends. One for every situation!I truly believe that God knows what we need and sends it directly to us. Thank goodness we are listening! I love you, love you! I know that you are one of my blessings. Lucky ME!
What I said yesterday I truly meant, you are the one that everyone wants to be their best friend! You are such a cute, fun, caring, loving and amazing women. You said it so perfectly that we have friends from heaven because you are that one for me. You have such a strong testimony that it has played a huge part in my life. God knew I needed someone in my life like you! So thanks for being such a great inspiration and friend!
Yeah, why is Shane wearing a tuxedo in that picture anyways? Hilarious!
Kelly my dear - shall I show a picture of my birthday breakfast you made me (I have a picture)? I say again - lucky is the person who is on the recieving end of ANYTHING you cook!!!
You are the one who makes sure I REMEMBER who I am. You have held me when I needed it, wrote me when I needed it and made me laugh when I needed it. You are MY sweetheart! And I Love you!
Amber- An inspiration is someone who can run like YOU can run. Thank you for saying those things, but I hope you know that YOU are an inspiration to me. Someone who can say 'It's All Good' in any situation, is stronger than she thinks she is. It is all good as long as we always have each other. And we will! Love you.
Jamie! He and Dixie look extra dressed up - I can't remember why. Were they class officers or something??? What kind of tie is he wearing, it's some kind of triangle???
I guess we shouldn't be talking - look at that picture of us! Did one of us say "I know, let's all look away with a straight face and THEN take the picture!"
Silly ninth grade girls!
Robyn,
You are such an amazing awesome person and you have a very unique gift--you can make everyone in your life feel special and important. Thanks for your inspiring blogs, it always make me want to be a better person. Love you!
Kim - I love you for saying such nice things, and I absolutely feel that every single person in my life is THAT special and important so I hope they always know that...including you my cute cousin! I wouldn't have had holiday dinners and family outings without your family. You are all very special to me! love you.
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