Jill

Let me start by saying that I recognize how amazingly blessed I am. I have an incredible life, job, and husband. One of the most amazing blessings of my life is the number of unique women that I have been priveleged to be friends with. These women all contribute to my life in their own special way. Some, Anna or Gabrielle, represent the solid foundation of my adult life. Lisa is my go to friend. In my past I have been blessed to struggle through puberty with Anne, Emily, Haley and Erica,  girls, now women, who left an imprint on my heart that will last a lifetime. Nicole is my childhood. All the women I am friends with bless me in a variety of ways, but none touch my heart like Jill.

This is us a few years ago. We were friends the moment we met. My Mom says that she prayed that God would provide me with a friend to be my light while I wandered in the darkness and that Jill was the answer to that prayer. I am writing about her tonight because we haven't seen eachother in forever and I have so much to share that can be shared in a short phone call or email. I miss her.

When I was in the darkest part of struggling with infertility she pulled me out. My husband tried, he gave it all he had, but infertility is just as painful for men as it is for women. On the worst day, he picked up the phone and called Jill, who dropped all she was doing for her family to sit on the phone and listen to me cry. To speak to me and pull me out. She celebrates my good days and cries with me on the bad.

No one deserves a friend like that, we are simply blessed have them. Tonight I wish I was still in our townhouse in Cloverbrook and I just had to walk across the hall and we would stay up all night laughing and crying and sharing.  I would love to go back and tell my friend what an amazing mother, wife and teacher she would grow up to be.

We met in the fall of 1998 and our friendship has officially hit puberty. I wouldn't change one minute of it. I just wish we lived in the same town. I could really go for some Coldstone and a long talk.