You've got a friend in me

I have avoided writing this gratitude entry for a while because I feel like I am not going to do my friends justice in just a blog post. I sometimes think that I should just keep it short and say, I am grateful for my friends. Then I think, well, that's horseshit; they deserve way more than that. So here is my admittedly feeble attempt to describe how INCREDIBLE my friends are.

Case in point: the first two people I called when I got engaged were Esther and Ashley. Like from the dinner table. The screams over the phone were nothing but pure unbridled joy for me and my happiness.  Now, these two, they don't have to love me. They don't have to be woken up my LB at 7:00am when I have just learned that my brother has passed. His first phone call was to them; he knew to call in the troops for support. Because they, these two and many other friends of mine are my family. They are the mother, sisters, cousins, Aunts, lifelong friends that I need in this life, and that I appreciate so much.

Ashley is getting married in mere months and took an entire weekend to come to Seattle with me to bury my brother and deal with my family. She didn't even hesitate to use her own money to buy a flight to come or to be put in awkward situation after awkward situation as we encountered the land mines that are my family. When I needed a break from it all, she stepped outside with me. When I needed her to just sit and be awkward she did that too. She went with me to see my brother's body and held me as I heaved from grief (that too was awkward cause she literally comes up to my boobs).

When I spoke to Esther about my trip home the first thing she said was, "I am so glad that Ashley was able to go with you. She has been through grief like this before and I have been lucky enough that I haven't." There was no jealously or bitterness... it was simple love for me and what was best for me. Selflessness is love and Esther has that in spades.

They allow me to be who I really am (crass jokes and all). They know my whole story: the ugly bits, and the pretty ones. They really have at different levels saved my life. 

I would do anything for my friends and not just these two ladies. I mean anything. I love them more than words and I cannot express how grateful I am for them.