the gift that keeps on giving

so i spent saturday afternoon with a friend from high school -- lunch at a burger joint that's been around for decades then flying kites out on the lake. she was gracious and generous enough to give me a birthday present: the blue journal on the left, which i love.

and then today brought me a box all the way from australia, from another gal with whom i'd gone to high school, with all kinds of goodies inside. that little silver thing next to the card? that's a millenium falcon keyring and next to that is a han solo one that also functions as a flashlight. she sent me snacks, too. but best of all, she colored me a picture, one of the tasks from last month's scavenger hunt, and she sent it to ME! yay! i feel so special.

i got good friends, yall.

i don't have a job, and that's really starting to freak me out. but i just keep telling myself... i've got REALLY GOOD friends. i keep marveling over it, keep telling myself there is good in your life, an abundance of it right now. i keep feeling immensely blessed because of it. every day. because for SO MUCH of my life, i couldn't say that. i knew i had a good friend or two, that gal from 'stralia being one of them. but friends? plural? as in SEVERAL? hell, i've not been able to say it with any sense of conviction until this past year. so for those of you who have no trouble making friends, please, please don't take them for granted. let them know how much you love them and why, because THAT'S the gift. make sure they know it. make sure they know you'll love them through thick and thin, god's honest truth. because i know what thin can do to a friendship. the fun stuff's EASY. i've not had too many hang with me in those rough moments. it sure does make life more bearable when you do.