As a momma, Thanksgiving has taken on new meaning for me. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still all about stuffing myself with crescent rolls, turkey, and my Grammy’s apple pie, but the GRATEFUL part hits home a little more.

So this week, I want to share a few of the great things in my life, the things that this year I am most grateful for.

Friends.

I’m gonna go all Middle School style on ya for a minute and take a trip down memory lane to share why I’m so grateful this year for our friends.

2005: At the ripe old age of 21, Hubs and I get married. We have a select few friends that are engaged or married, but to mostly everyone else, they look at us like we are growing second heads out of our necks.

2009: LJ joins our little crew. Hallelujah that Ashley is pregnant too, but we are some of the only people we know our age with kids.

Best Friends Meet - LJ (3 months) and Lil W (6 Days)

 2010: I start to struggle with being in such a different life stage as most of my old friends. My dear friends from HS and college do their best, and are always there when I need them, but they simply can’t understand. It gets very lonely being  just me and LJ (and my momma) all day most days.

2011: Ah, the power of Facebook.

We live a whopping 10 minutes from where we grew up. Our parents still live a street apart. We eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same stores, visit the same places we did as kids. It really is a wonderful place to live… and our HS classmates think so too.

Through the power of Facebook, a beautiful thing begins to happen. Those of us who went to high school together, whether in the same class or not, reconnect. We have kids of our own, families we are growing, yet we all have common roots that tie us together. We get one another.

Friends from many years ago. Friends we simply said “hi” to in between classes. Friends we knew only sort of. Friends, of any kind, are now coming together to create a new generation of friends. To dig those roots deeper and give ourselves, and our kids, someone who just gets them.

This year I am thankful for friends. Near and far, old, new, and new to this world. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for letting my giant child kiss your kid’s face off.

You are great. I love you.