More Than a Lunch

I promise all my homemade gift instructions are coming up by the end of the weekend, but first I wanted to give a shout out to some of my dearest friends who are totally awesome.

Today I went to lunch with five of the most wonderful and inspiring women I know. I looked around the table and realized that these five women have all come to me at different times in my life, but at the right time, and all of them have stuck around.  One of them since we were 12. One since college. A couple since my banking days. One more recently, via this blog. But every one of them means so much to me and has helped me through some rough times. And I can honestly say that each one of them has helped me down a spiritual path over the years that's brought me closer to God and given me a greater understanding of faith. Thank you ladies. You're awesome.

And for the record, the enormous pile of baby stuff I came home with was also seriously awesome. This is the only "shower" we've had, and it was literally the six of us sitting around a table at Biaggi's for lunch. Yet I came home with exactly the stuff we really kinda needed - crib sheets and blankets and diapers and clothes and bibs... These ladies knew what we needed and that's what they gave us. And three garbage bags of hand me down clothes, some of which I handed down from Lauren to Nicole before her now-two-year-old was born. It's awesome to see how we can keep the clothes train moving for each other! Some of these clothes (and some of the ones I got from Sharonda a few weeks ago) will be on their 4th owner. Call me crazy, but I think it's great to know we've helped each other out that much. And for the record, I can remember the days at the bank when Nic would bring me bags of clothes after her sister cleaned out her closet. I stayed in a nicer wardrobe for years thanks to her!

All of that to point out that I have awesome friends. And those are just the ones in close proximity. I'm still using gear and clothes (and a crib!) passed on from Lauren who is ten hours away. I'm totally beyond blessed to have such great women in my life! Now I have to go dig through the bags of clothes I pulled out of storage tonight to see what I can pass on to Melanie for her 1 year old...