"Blessings" Part II - Friends (super long)

In a previous post I mentioned that I am have been recounting my "blessings" I am I wanted to further my thoughts in relation to my friends. My whole life I have been blessed with wonderful friends. I know this because I have seen others, family members and friends, who have had many ups and downs with friends and many who have been treated horribly. I, on the other hand feel too lucky to have had the AMAZING friends that have helped shape who I am today.


Childhood Friends. I had a very great child hood with a close group of friends. The movie "Now and Then" reminds me a lot of our friendship. We did everything together and our families did as well. I have so many fond memories. We never really fought, that I remember, and I always felt like I had someone to call to say "can you play?" or "can you have a sleepover?" Some of my favorite memories include, "nerks" and tubing at Amy's cabin, "3 Amigos- yes, yes, yes"; Roy G. Biv, Marge and Elaine, jumping on the tramp, the club, YW activities, the Barbie game, the Nintendo track and field, rollerblading, circle games, "Ramon"!! and so much more! We, to this day, seem to have a closeness, even though we split off during junior high and high school years. I have always wanted the best for them, even when I went my own way. I hope they know that. I will always be grateful for your examples, love, and support. I love you 5th ward girls and always will!


Junior High School Friends. Though I had GREAT friends growing up, I also met some more great people in Junior High. Many would say that Junior high years are the hardest (and they are), but with good friends you can get through the awkwardness and change in emotions. I remember meeting most of the them. My best friend, to this day, is one I remember distinctly. I was on my way to French class and saw another friend from elementary school walking with a group of kids. She introduced me to my friend, Emily, and I remember walking away thinking "I wish I could be friends with her." (: Luckily that wish came true because we have done everything together since then, including having our babies at the same time. We had a fun group of friends and spent as much time together as possible. We would walk to my house after school each day, eat out the the cupboards, get our hair stuck up on the nail in the wall, meet up with the boys, dream about boys, have sleepovers on the tramp, sneak out to see the boys (and toilet paper with some-Em, does Blake, your husband, know it was us....? ) and talk about our first crushes (or make up secret names for each one -stud muffin, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, 3624, Basketball John, to name a few). We felt on top of the world and LOVED junior high.


High School Friends. Going into high school groups of friends were combined, split, and split again until many little mini groups were formed. I loved Sophomore year, we seemed to always have a party to go to and it felt like everyone was welcome everywhere. We had HUGE groups at dances and had a great time together. Junior Year was the year we really split up into mini groups and I found all the best friends that I still have today. I have been close to each one of them at different times and it seems that we each needed each other for different reasons. We hung out with different boys here and there and I met my Husband because of that. I am thankful for these wonderful girls!

There are 10 of us that still try to get together whenever we are in the same state. Most of us live out of Utah there are only 3 are there now. Whenever I need to talk to someone I know that one of them will be there for me. Thank you for all the memories, driving with windows down and singing at the top of our lungs, vocal ensemble, "You'll all have wrinkles," laying out at Jen's pool, Christmas parties, dances, Disneyland, St. George trips, all our random cars, boy struggles or many of you dating the same ones (no I actually was never in this category), singing tone deaf, hot tubing (tubbing?), wars with the boys, cabin trips, dreaming of the future, putting funny signs on stop signs, making predictions for the future, and so many more! I love you girls and truly miss living close.


College. Although I had this tight group of friends, life happened and we all had different directions, but tried to get together whenever possible. Many girls served missions while others wrote missionaries. I wouldn't have made it through the two years without Dave if I didn't have the support of my girls and eventually my sorority. I loved being in Chi Omega, though I was never the typical sorority girl. I didn't care to go flirt at the Frat houses and only took friends to our dances. But I LOVED having girls on campus that I was close to. I don't really see these girls much today, but I have always been grateful for how they made my college experience better and so much fun. It is funny that 4 or 5 of us had missionaries and we all helped each other stay focused. Some of my favorite memories are: Bid days, sleepovers, Jenna in her underwear, going to Hires, St. George spring break, "It's cowy out there," making CDs together (this was a new thing back then), Mondays at the house, Christmas parties, Wednesday lunches, Homecoming, and just hanging out. My best to all these girls!


The Boy Friends and their wives or Marriage Friends. When Dave came home from his mission all his friends tried to get back together. IT was fun to see how they all changed through their missions, but still had their fun crazy personalities and joy in being together. As we all started dating seriously and getting married we got to know each other very well and the girlfriends or wives became good friends too. I LOVE all these girls and consider them best friends. We have gone on many vacations together, enjoyed eating out, BBQs, weddings, given showers, had babes at the same times, and so many huge events. We were fortunate enough to move out to Michigan and live by one of the couples, but as we look for the future it looks like there will only be one couple left in Utah. How crazy is that? Some of my favorite memories include, "the Rio walk!", living "upstairs" from the Tophams, pool days at Tophams, playing games, Christmas and Halloween parties, Trips to St. George, Moab, Zions, and Kauai, making the husbands NOT quote stupid movies, playing at parks, play dates with the kids, and so many more.


PCMC Friends. I met some truly outstanding friends when I worked at Primary Children's Medical Center. I looked forward to work because of them. Both in Child Life and Radiology there were people I felt comfortable with. In child life, we have to really get in touch with emotions and before we even dug into patient emotions we are drilled in looking at ourselves, evaluating our lives, and realizing our "buttons" -how they are pushed, when, and WHY. This process aka "journalling" takes a lot of time and emotional effort, but allows you to be a better child life specialist and know how to work better with children. Throughout this process you are talking with other CL staff so they know what you are going through and begin to know more about you than many of your close friends. It is an incredible experience. I have made some truly remarkable friends because of this. Also, the nature of the hospital can be difficult so it is important to have people who you can talk with, de-stress with and have fun with. I appreciate their examples, dedication, support, and FUN! I miss working with all of you and hope to get back in the future.


NOW, Ann Arbor. Moving away for the first time was SCARY to me. I knew I would have Dave and that I was only a phone call away from those I was close to, but I am a person who needs to be WITH people. We were lucky to instantly make great friends. We have great friends through Dave's program and our Ward. We have had many get togethers including visiting local restaurants, watching sports events, celebrating big steps in school, movie nights, park outings, Halloween parties, pizza nights, game nights, Rock Band or Guitar Hero nights, Superbowl parties, and many other excuses to get together. Each couple brings their own element to the group and we always have a great time. It has truly made our two years here in Ann Arbor go by too quickly and we will miss these friends! I wonder where we will all end up!

I am especially grateful that they have meant so much to Anna, she loves all the couples! The other day we were getting together with the Hortons and I was telling Anna who we were going to see. She said, "Jess and Drew, they're my friends!" Anna knows where all of them live and when we drive down the road she will say their names in hope we are going to their house. It is so cute. We are grateful to have a Utah fan club out here, even though it dwindled throughout the years and also for the camaraderie we have with the cougars. (: I remember meeting the Abernethys our first or second Sunday and we hung out the next day, since then we have enjoyed seeing the sites of A2 and having our kids play. Anna's first kiss came because of them! (:

FUTURE. Who knows who we will meet in Modesto, but I hope I can continue to make good friends there. If not, then I will always have the collection of amazing people listed above! Love you all thanks for making me who I am and dealing with the outcome! (: