A Little Reflection on this Past Week...

To say that this has been a "trying" week... Is a gross understatement.  I usually try to take things 1 day at a time, but sometimes... Several days attack me at once! 

Rude... Right?! 

I'm done dealing with & talking about this week, so I'll just leave these right here.. 

I'm ready today.. & Tomorrow begins a new week!  Let's do this! 

You're the Pea to my Pod. The Thelma to my Louise..

Thank you for knowing me the way that you do, for understanding how my brain is sometimes my worst enemy. Thank you for being the kind of person in my life that I'm not only lucky enough to call my friend, but also my mirror. You see my truth even when I can't face it.  Thank you for never making me feel like I'm walking the path alone- even if I'm pretty sure I'm on the wrong one. 

Through all of the years that we have been friends, I have always admired & respected you.  Watching you blossom into the incredible woman that you are today makes me so proud to call you my friend. 

Thank you for telling me to be the very best version of me. Everyday.  For encouraging me & reminding me to be mindful of where my energies are going.. For reminding me that sometimes it's okay to breakdown- but it's not okay to unpack & live there.  

... For being my occasional therapist.  Thank you for instilling the wisdom of Velma when I need it, and being the Thelma to my Louise when I don't. 

Thank you for encouraging me when I need it, and for telling me that I'm being absurd (sometimes I need that too) but most of all, thank you for coming back into my life & staying. You are a lifetime & I feel so blessed. 

Love love. 

The hardest thing in life is knowing which bridge to cross, and which to BURN.

There are four things that you cannot get back in life:

The stone ...after it's thrown,

The word ...after it's said,

The occasion ... after it's missed,

The time ... after it's gone.

So apologize when you should and tell those near & dear to you how much they mean to you. 

There is no do-over button, you don't always get a second chance to fix things. 

Dude, just be nice. 

The death of a friendship...

I am constantly learning things about life, and sometimes hard lessons are learned about friendships.  Recently I had to end a friendship, unfortunately the friendship had been on life-support for a few years and neither party made any heroic efforts to revive it…. 

Which brings me to the point of my post… Expiration dates! Not like spoiled milk, or moldy cheese... But let's be honest- when they expire; they can leave a bad taste in your mouth. 

 There are some who believe every friendship in your life has a “shelf-life.”   

Reason, Season, or Lifetime.

The “reason” friendships are the friendships who are in your life to teach you something or get you through something- just as you may be in their life to teach them something or get them through something.  These friends are not meant to be lifetimes, they’re meant to be there and then gone just as quickly as they arrived.  Cherish them, and respect them for what they are. Don’t try to push them into another category, one or both of you will end up with hurt feelings.

The “season” friendships are similar to the reason, but with no teachable moments.  Enjoy the hell out of those for what they are. Love hard because they won’t be in your world forever.  Again, don’t try to force them into lifetimes either.  If there is a lesson to be learned it’s that nothing lasts forever.

Lifetimes, some of us are lucky enough to have more than a few of these.  I am one of those lucky ones. I have some friends that as soon as we met; we knew we’d be together forever.  No matter where life takes us, we always pick up right where we left off, and even if it’s been a year or so since we’ve spoken… We get on the phone and it’s like not a minute has gone by.  Cherish these weirdos.  They are such a blessing!

No matter what the lifespan of the friendship, if it ends, try to end it with the respect and love in which it began.