To Friendship

13 years ago I entered the BYU dorms hoping I might make friends.

13 years later, I still hold these 2 women as some of the dearest friends I have been blessed to meet in my life.  Maybe it's because they were there through those formative college years (which is still a carryover from the awkward teenage years, I think) and helped me through many growing pains.  But probably it's because they are such amazing women full of wit, intelligence, strength, kindness, and grace, that I still feel uplifted by their influence.  Also, we all really like good food.  We don't talk nearly as often as I think about them, and we see each other less, but we still make it happen.

We planned to celebrate turning 30 with a get together in Charleston, SC in October 2016-- a weekend that just happened to be the weekend a gigantic hurricane hit, which forced us to reschedule for January 2017- just a few weeks before I turned 31.  While I was irrationally (thanks pregnancy hormones) perturbed to reschedule at the time, the weekend of our trip fell 2 weeks after losing Eli, and having this to look forward to helped keep me grounded at first.  It was a small joy to help me face the bleak reality of grief.

And what a joy it was.  Charleston was a delightful city, which I have since been dreaming of going back to spend more time.  The 2 1/2 days spent there were not enough to take it all in!  We were blessed with glorious, 70 degree sunny weather for the whole time we were there--something that is dreamy in dreary January! We ate amazing food, toured Magnolia Plantation, saw Fort Sumter, took a carriage tour (my favorite thing we did), and visited the City Market.  We sampled the best Charleston had to offer, but of course this just set the backdrop to the main event, which was catching up with each other.  We talked and laughed and cried through the whole weekend and I left with my soul full of joy and gratitude for the blessing of good friends.

  Charleston really was a feast for the senses in every way!