"I'll stand by you, take me into your darkest hour, won't let nobody hurt you, I'll stand by you, and I'll never dessert you". The Pretenders

In your darkest hour.....do you know who will be there by your side? Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt who you can call in the middle of the night, during the ugliest storm of your life? When the chips are down I know where I stand and who is standing with me. I am blessed. And, the older I get, the more I realize how blessed I am. I cannot imagine my life without my 'Sisters". The women who I call my friends are simply the most amazing women I have ever known. Their lights shine like beacons in the dark. With each passing year and each life altering event, their lights glow brighter and warmer. I know that I am alive today because of their love and strength. They fortify me, prop me up, believe in me when the 'shoulds' take over and kick my ass, call me out when I'm being a jerk, chicken, cat or victim. They show me how to be courageous, smart, funny, brave, beautiful, heroic, assertive, forgiving, compassionate and stubborn. They know me like they know their own image in a mirror and love me anyway. They inspire me, guide me, teach me and hold me up when I'm faltering, always giving to me what I need even when I don't know myself. I am constantly amazed at the gifts they bestow on me....if not directly, surely by proximity to them. As life unfolds, things out of our control happen and this is when we discover who is going to be there holding us up when we cannot hold ourselves up. These defining moments seem to be happening at a staggering pace lately and I have been honored to see just how friendships show up. You won't always know who is going to step up and show you how much you mean to them, or rather, how much they will come to mean to you. As I am writing I'm finding it hard to really put into words what I'm feeling right now. The words, while they are coming in spurts just aren't really conveying the depth of what I want to share. My circle of friends have shown up in the last 18 months in ways that have inspired me and given me strength when I thought I had none left and no resevior to fill from. To them, I give my heart, a debt of gratitude, for all that they have given me, each lesson of love a tribute to their own beautiful hearts. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO