One of my favorite quotes is from the movie “Stand By Me”. The narrator says “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

It’s so true. My childhood friends were amazing. It’s such a magical time when your very young, then awkward in middle school and then downright painful, exciting, glorious and revolutionizing in high school and college. The friends you make during those times leave a permanent mark on your heart. I had a wonderful childhood full of really great friends and memories. Irreplaceable. There are people I have known since I was 6 years old that I now stay in touch with on Facebook. Old friends. Old friends are priceless.

And then there are the friends you make as an adult. You’re not forced together by a classroom setting or a cheer squad or a soccer team or church. They are grown up people that you CHOOSE to associate with. Because they are funny or smart or kind or cute or SARCASTIC or all of the above. People that fit a need or fill a place in your life. People you are just drawn to & connect with. Grown up friends laugh with you, laugh at you, cry with you, come in your garage door, know how dirty your house REALLY is, and accept you for what you really are. When it’s ugly and you lose your marriage, when you lose your job, when you lose your health, when your Dad dies suddenly & you are broken, when you ugly cry, when your anxiety flares up, when you feel alone…that’s when grown up friends are the best. Exactly in the middle of all the ugly is when a true friend shows up. I have so many & Im so lucky. Thank you friends- old AND new.