A Much Needed Break

Wow I had a good time on my trip! I was so happy to take some time off and visit one of my best friends in NC even if it was only three hours from here. I arrived Friday evening with two of my sisters, and we arrived back home Tuesday at midnight. I love the way my friend introduces me to people, she always says so excitedly "this is my friend W." "I've known her since I was 2!" lol It's so cool how that means alot to her and that she really values our friendship. Really we are all just extended family. We had a good time, and although there was alot I did not get to do (just an excuse to go back in a month!), I did have fun. The area that she lives in is really beautiful, there was lavender growing all along the roadside it was so beautiful and well kept. I wanted to take pictures, but I was so busy doing other things, that I neglected to do so. Some of the highlights of my trip were our visit to the icecream shop where I had a scoop of blueberry icecream and a scoop of swiss chocolate icecream, I know this may not seem like such a big deal, but I have never been any more adventurous than trying rocky road icecream, so honey flavored, peach flavored, rasberry flavored and blueberry flavored icecream was really a treat! The other highlight of trip was our visit to the roller skating rink. It is always fun to act carefree like a kid every once in a while. These were some of the small things, but they meant the most. The only downfall of my trip was the difference in the altitude, because of it I felt unusually sleepy earlier than usual and could not stay up past that point. I even went to the movies, and the moment the lights went out to start the movie, I layed my head down and fell to sleep and did not wake up until the last 10 minutes of the movie lol and it was a comedy (lots of laughter in the theater)! But overall I just enjoyed being able to visit her and having time off from Wally World. Unfortunately when I got back to Wally World my first night was horrible :( But such is the plight of a Wally World worker drone.....

"What about your friends? Are they gonna stand their ground? Are they gonna let you down?"

I am the type of person who does not need to have a huge group of people who I call friends just for popularity reasons, I have never been that way. This is not because I am not sociable and don't attract potential friends, it is actually quite the opposite, it is rather by choice. The few good friends I have, are like family to me; we have been though thick and thin, we laugh, we cry, we give advice, and the occasional loan lol. So that is why when I meet a new person, who wants to automatically cling to me and say we are bosom buddies, it makes me a little skeptical. To me, and this is my motto in any type of true relationship, whether it be your lover, friend, or family member, "you have to surrender the me for the we." I read that quote once and have sited it ever since, because I believe it is so true. If you want your relationship to work you have to be unselfish and think about the other persons feeling and needs as well. If you want to call yourself my friend, then I should not be the only one who is doing all the giving in the relationship. I know some people who want you to be there for them when they are going through a crisis, you must hang out where and when they want, and be there for them at the drop of a hat, but when it is time to return the favor, they go AWOL or deaf, dumb, and blind. These are what I call "friends when it is convenient", or "seasonal friends" who change so often. I would rather refer to these people as associates, but these are the folks who seem to insist that you are friends. However when the test of true friendship comes along, they never seem to pass. When a minor meaningless tiff occurs in the relationship, and that person then considers you a mortal enemy; it was never a real friendship to begin with. With a real friend, the minor disagreements, are overcome eventually. One personal example I had was when one of my best friends and I were still teenagers, and we had an altercation that involved some other friends, and the usual teenage-girl drama, we went almost a month without speaking although we missed each other (as was secretly confided by our mother's reports lol). Eventually I decided to be the bigger person and initiate conversation again, because I loved her like family and really valued her friendship. We have been even more close ever since. That's my definition of real friendship: Loyalty, Understanding, Respect, and the willingness to always make it work even though the rocky moments. What's yours?