The title of this post is a slightly modified quote from one of my favorite authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I substituted good friends for old friends; partly because I personally never want to be referred to as old, regardless of the reason, and partly because some of my best friends I have known for only a short time.
It has been quite a while since I've written anything. There are many reasons, but primarily because I've been far to busy living my life lately to take time to write about it. While there are many things that I would like to share, I am going to begin by dedicating this post to some of the amazing friends I am fortunate enough to have in my life. There is absolutely no way that I could include all of the people that impact my life each day, but I want to provide a sampling of those who are very near and dear to me.
In addition to my wonderful husband, if I am going to dedicate a post to my friends I must mention my cohort in creating the unique brand of chaos that defines me today. My amazing sister...
The reason this blog began was to not only to document my experiences for the seven months we anticipated Eric living abroad, but also to occupy my time. However, the incredible people surrounding me ascertained that I very rarely had an enormous amount of time on my hands and inasmuch, the blog was updated much less frequently than I intended. Nine months later, Eric is still abroad, I am still running (a half marathon in April), and my friends continue to be my unwavering foundation.My best friend from high school, Astyn, is the one person that I know who has never been shocked by anything that I have told her. Her faith in me and lack of judgement has been one of the greatest reassurances in my life for a very long time. Her unique approach to life, her talent, and her energy make her one of the most beautiful people I know. We often go for months without seeing one another, but it never really matters...we always pick up exactly where we left off. She will kill me for posting this photo, but it always makes me smile. We often have a few glasses of wine and end up looking at old photos until the very early hours of the morning. Her fiance, Brandon, and Eric are always very good sports about our randomness.
Nancy is quite possibly the calmest, most rational person I know. Even when she is completely freaking out about something, she says in an extremely calm and quiet voice, "Heather, I'm really concerned." She is also one of the few people I know that can immediately sense if something is just not right...I think she sometimes realizes things about me before I even realize them. She is extremely intelligent, caring, and frequently serves as my personal Emily Post. 
Those mentioned above have been key players in my life for a long time. From this point forward, I am going to focus on a few individuals who have more recently become a big part of my life.
First, there is Jeanne. She is one of the most unique individuals in my life. She can elicit more extreme reactions from me than most anyone I know. This is possibly because everything she does is done with passion. For a long time she had bumper stickers that read "I don't just hug trees, I kiss them too" and "I'm a democrat and I own a gun." We don't always agree, but I am certain that having her in my life has made me a better person. This year, I had the opportunity to spend Jeanne's birthday with her at a beach bonfire...it was phenomenal. I only wish that I were able to see her more frequently.
Since this post is very quickly becoming extremely long. I am going to wrap this up with a group of girlfriends that have come to mean so much to me in the last couple of years. It is interesting because, although several of us were friends when I lived in DC, I feel like our relationships have grown so much in the last year. They are the group that makes me feel like being girly and silly is the most fabulous thing in the world. I have flown to DC specifically to watch Sex and the City as well as Mama Mia with them, coordinated outfits for an evening out so that the pictures would be the best possible, and danced and sung at the top of my lungs in the middle of the bar with them. They understand that bad hair can be an emergency and that guys can simultaneously be the best and worst thing in our life. Good food and gorgeous cocktails are never lost on them and recognize that it is completely understandable to take 400 pictures in one evening. Only one word can really define Kristi, Littany, Libby, and Julia...fabulous.
