My life would suck without you...

We sang this song at Jenna's karaoke birthday a few weeks ago and then I heard Kelly Clarkson sing it live a few days later...we sang it better at karaoke of course.  Kidding.  And while we were singing Jenna commented something along the lines of the lyrics being kind of depressing.  Which I had honestly never really thought about before.  Maybe because the chorus is so catchy and happy sounding...or maybe because it sounds like the kind of "anthem" you sing to someone you couldn't imagine your life without.  I prefer to think of it in a positive light anyway.  Glass half full type of stuff.  But it got me thinking...I am a really lucky/blessed person.  There are SO many people in my life that make it not suck.  And this post is dedicated to all of them. 

If you're really lucky, like me, you meet some of these people early on in life.  Perhaps when you're born they're already there, even if they aren't too fond of you at first, or come along a few years later.  It may take a while for you to realize what you have, and there may be lots of pinching, screaming, and crying involved before you get there.  The cool part is getting there.  And learning to appreciate those built in friends not everyone has.  I think I hit the sibling jackpot (most of the time at least).

A little later in life come the friends you meet as a kid and before you know it nearly 20 years have gone by, even though it seems like just yesterday you were having a sleepover or going to Six Flags for the first time.   These are the friends I think most people have while they're growing up and then kind of lose touch with as over the years as they move on to different high schools, colleges, cities, etc.  But not me.  These are the people I consider an extension of my family.  We've shared so much of our lives together...the ups, downs, and fights in between.  They've helped shape me into the person I am today and I couldn't be more thankful.  Again I know I hit the best friend jackpot with these 2.

Throughout high school and college you tend to add more friends to the mix.  Some come and go, but others just seem to have a way of sticking.  I count myself incredibly lucky to have made such good friends in high school...even after going to different colleges and making other friends we still have each other and the nights we're all together are some of my favorites.   And the friends we've added along the way seem to fit right in like they were missing from the start.  It's like a puzzle you couldn't quite figure out. Yep you guessed it...jackpot. 

 

Last but certainly not least are the "grown up" friends you make.  I like to think of these friends as kindred spirits (thanks Anne of Green Gables).  Now if you're like me and you've moved around quite a bit in the past few years you probably have various groups of friends in different parts of the country.  Which I love.  It's so fun to go visit on occasion and catch up like no time has passed at all.  The cool part is some of these friends have known you the shortest amount of time yet perhaps know you the best out of anyone.  Pretty neat right?  I think so.  

It's like hitting the mega millions jackpot.  I hope these friends, and the ones that didn't make the pictures (I could only pull so many from Facebook), know how much they are loved.  They're all unique and special and our relationships are everything.  My life would seriously suck without all of them. 

"I know that I've got issues, but you're pretty messed up too, either way I found out I'm nothing without you...because we belong together now, forever united here somehow, yeah you got a piece of me, and honestly, my life would suck without you..."  Kelly Clarkson