Reflections

I just finished spending a week in Post Falls, Idaho with my best friend since fourth grade. You know you have something pretty special when you can go more than four years without seeing a person and pick up as though you'd only been gone for half an hour. I'm really glad I decided to take the summer off because otherwise I would not have been able to spend this time with her, and with her upcoming wedding in October who knows when we'll be able to spend so much "girl time" together again. It was also nice to be able to meet her fiance and get to know him a little bit before they get married. Although who knows what he must think of Steph and I together...crazy girls. My flight got in pretty late at night, and I don't think the rest of the passengers were quite prepared for two twenty-some year old girls acting like little kids jumping up and down and screaming in the airport. We got more than a couple strange looks as those standing around waiting for their luggage back away from us. The week passed by quickly, too quickly, and now I am sitting in my cousin's house in LA relaxing and wondering if I should finish my book or walk down to the beach.

I tend to complain quite a bit, but when I stop to think about things, I have been more than a little blessed. I have one of the most incredible group of friends possible. Granted, many of them live all over the United States and I may rarely (if ever) see them. Yet I have learned so much from each of them. No matter what the problem I am facing or question I might have, I know that they would be there for me. I can think of only two friendships that have ended in a manner that I wish I could have changed, but even from those I have learned more than I thought possible. From one I learned the importance of compassion and forgiveness. We are all human and can make mistakes at any moment. I cannot be the one to judge another. From the other I learned what can happen when you take God out of the center of your life and lose respect for yourself. Sometimes there are days when I want to forget completely about these people who once meant so much to me, but I have come to realize that it is only in learning from the mistakes of the past that I can hope to become a better friend.