I’m a firm believer in making your own family–whether by blood, marriage, or friendship. There are just people you gel with, who’ve seen you at your best and worst, who know you to your core. These are the relationships I love and hold dear.

Today we got to spend the afternoon with two of our nearest and dearests. Time with them is always worthwhile, even when we are sitting in silence, watching the dogs in the yard, or cooing over Sweeps. They know my heartaches. I know theirs. They know my joys and dreams. And though not quite the same, I know some of theirs. We identify with each other over nerdy fathers, strong mothers, and the odd-ball choices our families make. We gossip. We play games. We make believe (more so when we were kids than we do now). We craft (boy, do we craft).

I am thankful always for people who knew Mom before she was sick–pre2016 really. But I’m especially thankful for the relationship that one of these two had with our Mama. Their own friendship and mentorship. I’m thankful for the way Mom accepted and loved both of them. And they way we all laughed and smiled and enjoyed time together. It makes me remember how much my heart longs for time together–it’s one of my top love languages. And when there are those you can’t spend time with physically any longer, it’s relieving to share stories and memories with those who knew them, no matter the stage.