Friends

When Andy and I got married (8 1/2!!!) years ago and decided to stay here, I was excited. I loved the size of our town, bigger than where I grew up, but yet not too big. We had gone to college together here, and I assumed that we would have friends that would stick around. We weren't terribly far from our families, so it seemed like a good place to be.  So we rented an apartment and began our life together. I had a job in a nearby town, as did he, and our church was in a totally different town. So, needless to say, we didn't have much of a life where we actually lived, even though we liked the town. We got settled into our routine...still had a few friends that were around, so we would hang out with them occasionally. Then 2 1/2 years later we had our first child. We had decided from the beginning that I would stay home once we had children, so 6 weeks before he was born, I quit my job (due to being on bedrest). Needless to say, it was a big adjustment. I went from a very busy nursing job, to a very differently busy job of being a mom at home. It took a while for me to figure out a routine. Then when I did, I realized that I knew NO ONE else who lived here (with the exception of one college friend and my brother...who was in school full time.) NO other moms, and definitely no moms who stayed at home. It was very lonely to be at home all day with no adult to talk to, eat lunch with, etc.

A few weeks after Noah was born, I had an unexpected phone call from a person that I had met in college, but didn't really know. She had a 4 month old baby who she was staying home with and she offered to bring us supper! So she did...and I thought that might be the end of it. Then she invited me to a Pampered Chef party, to a Bible study, then to lunch and a dear friendship began. I had one friend here! I was so excited. She was my lifeline for a while. We talked on the phone almost every day and got together several times a week, as she just lived a mile down the road. Then later that summer she told me she was moving an hour away. I was so upset. I still had no other friends here, and couldn't stand the thought of her moving!

We continued to get together as often as we could, and talked on the phone frequently. I have joked with Erin (but it's so true, too!) that I don't know how I would have gotten through some of those days without her.  I am still so thankful for her.

A person I met through that Bible study told me about a "Mom's group" that she had heard of, so I thought, what have I got to lose? I'll try it. I started going most Fridays and met a group of moms who all stayed home. It took awhile to develop friendships, but I was just happy to have somewhere to go on Friday mornings that I could take my then one year old with me. Little by little, the Lord helped dear friendships to develop with a lot of those ladies and meet other women through those sweet people.

Fast forward a few years...I celebrated my birthday last month, and was especially blessed this year as I thought about all the family and friends the Lord has blessed me with. I have some very dear friends from college that I talk to frequently and get together with as time allows, some dear friends from high school who I talk to and get together with frequently, and finally :) have several very dear friends here. As I looked around the table at my birthday get together for lunch (with 8 of us there...and 2 more that couldn't make it)...I remembered that several years ago I didn't even KNOW that many people here, and this year was overwhelmed at how God has provided so many dear friends in my life. There are sweet women in my life now who I can call or email, who will babysit, bring me meals when I am sick, meet me at the park, can exchange books with, can get together to cook with or scrapbook. So much of that may sound so silly, but as I was thinking today, I was so blessed by how God has provided me with such good friends.

Thank you all for being a friend to me! :)