Don't Forget How Lucky You Are

I started writing some stupid post about how fast this year is moving and how I'm a terrible blogger and all of that.  And then I realized that it was just about the worst post ever and I have better things to say.  Sappy things, but better things.  Hang in there, friends.  This is going to be a bit of a rant and I'm going to sound "emotional."

It has been a very long couple of weeks.  I absolutely love my job and have made some wonderful friends here so I don't want people to think I'm just being ungrateful for what I do have.  But let's be real, I have really been missing my close friends and family.  People who can see their best friends and family anytime just do not understand. 

Note to my Kentucky friends before I proceed:
Please know that I am in no way saying in the rant that will follow that you all are not important to me!  Just been a rough couple of weeks to be so far away from the people who have known me for so long and I suppose I needed to take a moment to tell those people that I am missing them.


I go months without talking to my friends from college because we all live in different time zones (and on different continents for that matter).  I hear about big life news third hand or through Facebook or never hear it at all until it's brought up months later.

I wasn't there to celebrate when my best friend's son turns four last week and I already know that I will miss her older son's eighth birthday.  It took me months to see her daughter after she was born.

I can't be there to meet my other best friend for happy hour on a day when we both just really need it.  She isn't going to be here to celebrate my birthday this weekend and I can't tell you when I will see her next.

To add to the stress and homesickness, in the last few weeks I've had multiple friends lose their parents.  We aren't even 30 yet.  We should not be thinking about these things.  It is so incredibly hard to know that I can't just jump in the car, drive over, and hug them.  I know that being there would not fix the fact that their mom or dad just died.  But this has happened to some of the people who I hold most dear - people that I know would do just about anything for me if I asked.  And I cannot even hug them, tell them that I love them and that I'm thinking about them, hold their hand while they cry.

All of the things with my friends' parents make me miss my mom and dad.  I don't think you ever get so old that you stop needing your parents.  At least, I hope I never get too old to want to be with them.  A friend of mine posted this blog post on her Facebook page and it made me cry.  I had some of the best parents anyone could ever ask for.  Our house wasn't always spotless.  We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese because it was quick and easy and they both worked a lot in order to give my siblings and me everything we could ever need.  We didn't have the fanciest clothes, we don't have the biggest house, and we sure as hell did not have "magnetic, alphabetized spice containers" but we did have a lot of love, a lot of laughter, and hours upon hours of great memories - going camping in the summer, splashing in the pool, softball practice, reading books out loud, Sunday afternoon movies at the West Picture Show....... I could go on and on about things that mean so much to me.

I am so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family and to have found friends who are as important to me as most people's families are to them.  I am proud of all of them every single day.  The thought that they may not always be there crushes me.  No, they aren't going anywhere tomorrow, god willing, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't cherish every single day we have with them.

Technology is great in that I never truly feel disconnected from any of these people who I feel so close to.  I talk to my best friends almost every day, my sister almost every night, my brother at least once a week, and my mom and dad multiple times every day (even if my dad does think I only call to talk to Mom...).  But g-chatting with your best friend isn't the same as being able to call them up and drag them shopping with you while you look for the perfect outfit for a big night out.  Talking to your mom on the phone is not the same as cooking her dinner and enjoying a beer while planting your garden.  Texting your sister to give her insight into wedding planning is not the same as sitting on the floor with wedding magazines spread everywhere, planning a magical day that we have been dreaming about since we were children.

The next couple of months are full of celebrations, so I will be seeing my family a ton - a friend's wedding in a few weeks back in Wisconsin, my future brother-in-law's graduation the next week in North Carolina, then more weddings and events, until the biggest moment of the summer - my sister's wedding.  Unfortunately, all of those weddings mean that I won't have time this summer to see my best friends.



I know that I am sounding like I'm whining here.  There are people who live halfway around the world from their families so at least I get to see them every few months.  I'm not trying to whine.  I'm just trying to get an important point across.

Don't take your family and friends for granted.
Cherish every memory with them and tell them that you care.
The world we live in ensures that they won't always be there, whether we like that or not. 

For those of you who can see your family anytime you want, DO IT.  Tonight, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat.