Friends You Love Blog Hop – Meet Kari from Alas 3 Lads!

It’s our third week of the Friends You Love Blog Hop…I hope you are having fun linking up and meeting some new friends.  I am excited to introduce you to Kari from Alas 3 Lads.  Kari and I met over a year ago when we would stop by and say hi and answer each others Aloha Friday question.  She was always so sweet and I have enjoyed getting to know her.  In May, she sent me a Kentucky Derby t-shirt that I won off of her blog…now every time I wear it I ALWAYS think of her!    I would love to welcome Kari.  Once you are done reading her guest post, stop over and say hi.  I know you’ll love her as much as I do!

I was thrilled when Tammy invited me to write a guest post for her Friends You Love Blog Hop. While Tammy and I have never met “in real life” and don’t know each other all that well, I do consider her a blogging friend. She has been a regular visitor to my blog, always leaving kind and relevant comments. Tammy also makes me feel welcome to her own site – taking time to respond to any comments that I might leave for her. We seem to always have a friendly and comfortable conversation and I appreciate that. She’s just an all-around nice person!

What Friendship Means To Me

On my first day of kindergarten, I met a new friend. Her name was Anna and we seemed to instantly just click. Soon, our moms arranged a play date and as it turns out, our families were already acquainted and we lived within a few miles of one another in our rural community. From then on, Anna and I were inseparable. We played and shared secrets and laughed together (we could seriously get the biggest case of giggles over just about anything). As we got older, we became boy-crazy together and got interested in clothes and makeup and shopping. We were always together and shared so many fun times.

Anna and I were the definition of friendship – we knew everything about each other (the good and the bad) and we always had each other’s backs. We could practically finish one another’s sentence, we always made each other laugh, and we tried to bring out the best in each other.

We remained the best of friends all the way through high school. Once we reached our early 20’s we started drifting apart a little bit. Not because of any particular reason – just life. We were both starting our careers, getting married, and having babies. We no longer lived close to one another. Of course we kept in touch. We talked on the phone and got together when we could. But, eventually our own lives took over and we simply became too busy to spend much time together anymore. Years passed and our interaction came down to a few calls or emails per year and the exchanging of Christmas cards. Even though Anna and I were no longer spending time together, I always cherished growing up with her and all our wonderful times.

In 2009, my father was battling lung cancer. He went through chemo and radiation, but it became apparent that his prognosis was not good and it looked like he wouldn’t last long. Anna and I had talked on a few occasions, so that I could update her on his condition. But, we hadn’t seen each other in ages. In one of our short phone conversations, I guess she could sense how stressed and sad I felt. Between driving my Dad to daily radiation appointments to finally sitting with him at his home while he received hospice care, I was exhausted. I also felt like my own husband and kids were left on their own. There had been little time for me to clean house, grocery shop, prepare meals, or even spend time with my kids. As I said, at this point, Anna and I hadn’t talked or seen each other much at all for the past few years. Then…there she was. Anna showed up at my house with a whole car-load of groceries and proceeded to stock my refrigerator and pantry.  After all our time apart, she knew just what I needed. Anna was still there for me, reaching out and helping me in my time of need. That simple gesture meant so much to me and reaffirmed everything I already knew about our friendship.

It’s been 37 years since Anna and I first became friends. We may only talk or see each other once or twice per year, but deep down in our hearts, I think we know that we’ll always be there for each other. True lifelong friends!