Soul Mate Kind of Friends

Here's a cool thing about my life... at every stage I have met great friends, the kind that are life-long, even-when-you-haven't-talked-in-a-year kind of friends where things are natural and you always wish the best for each other. I am crazy blessed with a lot of those kind of friends.

But I also have a number of people in my life who are soul mate kind of friends. These are the people that I can maybe remember the first time I met them, but have no idea how we got from saying hello to knowing each other backward and forward because getting to that point usually took only one conversation. I was thinking of this topic because my friend Kelly and her daughter Meg were over the other night and they are those exact kind of people. I got to be the lucky person who Megan needed to come see because SHE GOT HER BRACES OFF! and I feel so soul-mated with this kid that if it wouldn't have been a production, a big surprise she couldn't wait to share, I would have been a little heartbroken. Yes, I know... braces wouldn't actually break my heart. But the fact that her almost-14-year-old self thinks I might be a smidge cool enough to share things with... it makes me feel just a little bit like a rock star.

I'm sure I'll be writing about many soul mate friends on this blog (Susie being one of them... I promise she's a fabulous soul mate friend, and not just a girl who pushes cigarettes on me *smile*) because they are all such an essential part of my day-to-day life. They are the ones who so effortlessly let me live vicariously through them and their families, making my life feel absolutely whole and complete. I've not only been welcomed into their families but their extended families as well. I get to be a part of their kids' lives, but more importantly they don't mind that I love their kids like my own. They put up with the crazy dog and come hang out at my place with me anyway, and the ones who live far away keep in touch like we live just down the block. I am blessed, people. So here's an idea: when you read this take a minute to call one of your friends that you maybe haven't talked to in a while and tell them how blessed you feel, too. I guarantee it will make your day as much as you will make theirs.