The following is an open letter to the friends who have loved me no matter the distance, whether that distance is emotional or physical.
Dear friend,
I don’t say it enough, but thank you. Thank you for sticking by my side through it all.
The past ten years have been a hell of a learning curve for me and sometimes I wake up and can’t believe I’m actually entering my thirties. Some days I wake up and have to remind myself that I have big responsibilities. Way, way bigger than the ones I had when we met.
Having to pick up and move often can be harder than I let on. Each time I find myself in a new place I simultaneously find myself closing a chapter. It’s hard because I am not the same me I was when I first started this military spouse journey. To be honest, I’m not even the same person I was the last time we moved.
And yet… You are still a constant.
Whether our friendship is relatively new, is based through social media and text, or is aging nicely like a fine wine: I am blessed by you.
Even if I don’t always call (or pick up when you call)… you are on my heart.
I think about you, I try to make sure I check in on you, sometimes that doesn’t happen as often as I want. Sometimes time zones, distance, and being a wife and mom gets in my way.
But I still pray for you, and I know you pray for me too.
Friend, the love we share is invaluable to me. It calms my fears about the world my daughters will walk into. I know you’ll be there however you can be when I have two teenagers and a preteen. (Please, don’t leave me, if only for this reason right here!)
Knowing you quells my anxieties about what would happen to them if I die earlier than the age of one hundred and five. As unlikely as that is.
I know in my absence you would be there for them. The same way you are for me.
I want you to know that there’s a spot on my couch that was made just for you.
During the tough, frustrating, or even the downright absurd and amazing moments I always wish I could snap my fingers and you’d pop up, right there. Just for ten minutes so no one in your world ends up missing you the way I do, though.
I know being friends with me isn’t always a walk in the park.
I know what I lack.
I know what you’re looking past.
Thank you for loving me like that.
Thank you for hyping me up about the choices I’ve made and the paths I have followed.
Thank you for never comparing me to your other friends.
Thank you for accepting me as I am.
Thank you for being you.
Love always,
Me.