Compadres

Friendship.

That phrase; that term; that concept is taken for granted by so many people it's incredible. If you had one friend that had some sort of impact on your life, you would be different. You would cherish their company, their insight, and their friendship. These days, finding genuine, trusting people takes a miracle. Mostly everyone has their own agenda, their own motivations that dictate their every move and every statement.

I think that friendship is a blessing. Not everyone in this world has someone they can turn to in times of sadness, joy, and celebration. It amazes me how many people feel alone in this world and it has an even bigger effect on me when I realize how legitimate their loneliness is. The minute I experience how much they are hurting, I immediately look at myself and realize how unbelievably lucky I am. Now, when I say this next sentence, I mean it and it's the truth. I have the greatest group of friends a person could conceivably have. Every single on of my friends have such giving and genuine hearts I start to question if I even deserve their friendship.

During my entire engagement, I have learned an enormous amount about myself, my limitations, my likes/dislikes, and those people who have stood by me from the moment I met them. In making my invitation list to the wedding and reception (and it is quite an exclusive list, folks), I had the most fun writing down all of the names of my friends because I knew they would be some of the first ones to show up in Sweet Home Alabama on that glorious weekend in July; they would the first ones to run up to me and give me the biggest hug the night before my wedding; they will be the ones who will cry with me when I put my wedding dress on an hour before I walk down the aisle; they will be the ones I know that will be genuinely happy for me when they see me walk down the aisle towards my best friend; and, best of all, they will be the ones who will party their asses off with me as a newlywed and love every minute of it. And, what is so refreshing is that they know that they can expect the same exact thing from me.

You know, it doesn't necessarily have to be a wedding; it can be anything...a breakup, a death, a birth of a child, tailgating :) , etc. I guess the idea of a wedding is so fresh on my mind because I am right in the middle of planning one.

All of these thoughts came to the forefront this weekend when all I was surrounded by was great friends. Moving to a new city, a person can feel lost and abandoned, but I have never felt so at home when I am around these incredible people. At Vanderbilt, I made friends that will be in my wedding and I know I will always be able to call for anything at all. While at Vanderbilt, I met some West Virginia folks when I went to visit my husband-to-be and it took me a few hours to realize how lucky he was and how lucky he had just made me. In just a few hours, those people I met became some of my best friends. I hold those individuals in such a different league than others and until you meet them, you will have no idea the effect that group of friends has had on my life and, especially, The Fiance's life.

Love you guys and see you soon.