The Power of Friendship

I woke up with a smile today, knowing that in just a few hours, my best friend is coming to visit.  I can't wait to see her, spend time together doing anything and everything, long nights catching up on each others  lives, sharing opinions about just about everything, and just enjoying each others company. It doesn't matter how far apart we live, or how seldom we speak to each other.  Our friendship is one of those that even if we spend months apart, we pick up right where we left off.

"You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." - Winnie The Pooh

You can define success in life any which way you want, but too often it is measured in dollars and cents.  However, no one is richer than those who have friends to share life's little pleasures with.  Not the kind of friends who are only there when life is good, but gone when you really could use a kind word or a shoulder to cry on.  But the ones who stick with you through the good and bad; who share in your laughter when you are happy, and are there for you when life seems unbearable; the ones who don't judge, but lend a listening ear and advice when you ask for it - and not when you don't; the ones who let you make your own mistakes - because who are they to decide if you will be successful or not if you don't try?  The ones you can call in the middle of the night, even after you are all grown up, because you just really, really need to talk; the ones who love you when you have forgotten to love yourself.  Those kind of friends make life worth living!

So here's to best friends!  Make sure yours knows how special she is in your life!

The Important Things in Life

As so many other Americans, I joined the ranks of the unemployed this week.  Losing your livelihood is a tough experience; not only because of the loss of income, but also because it is so easy to blame oneself and question everything one has done to end up here.  So very surprisingly, I have had nothing but pleasant experiences the last few days.

I immediately reached out to my closest friends and let them know what had happened, and I have to say, today my self esteem is higher than it has been for months. Not one just told me they were sorry and let it be with that. Besides telling me it is the company's loss and encouraging me to stay positive, every one offered their support by providing me names of personal friends who could be helpful in finding new employment, spreading the link of my blog, forwarding my resume to their own contacts, volunteered to watch my children so I can seek other employment etc. etc. As always, actions speak much louder than words.

Besides my paycheck, there is nothing sad about my changed employment status.  Hate is a strong word, but I think it describes pretty accurately how I felt about my job. However,  I had never expected so much support.  I guess when times are tough, you find out who your true friends are, and I am very pleased to say, that there are more people than I imagined that care about my and my children's well being. That in itself has put a permanent big smile on my face. More importantly, though, it has reinforced my faith in that everything will turn out just fine.

I can't change what happened yesterday, so there is no use in me waisting time being angry or upset about it.  I can only slightly influence what will happen tomorrow, so no use in worrying about it until it's here. But  I can live today to the fullest, and that is exactly what I intend to do!

I wish you all a wonderful week!