"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say."

There are very few people who "get" me.  Know what makes me tick.  What I need.  What my buttons are and how to push them in a good and productive way.  How to challange me and engage me.  How to confront me in a way that doesn't make me defensive {which is a true art}.  Most people I interact with don't have that relationship with me.  In fact, not even my husband understands me.  And that's totally okay.  I can still love and enjoy people who don't fully understand the depths of my insanity, insecurities, and disfuntion.  :)  I have a multitude of friends.  And a select few intimate bonds that go FAR beyond friendship.  And that's how I like it.  It makes those relationships so much more special.

I befriended Deb, almost by accident.  She invited me over.  We had kids close to the same age and worked together.  Honestly... I didn't want to go.  I'd just recently left my husband (Trenton's dad) and I was feeling... scattered.  But, I went.  I'm not sure why.  I took Trenton to her house for a playdate.  The boys were instant friends.  Trenton spilled a diet coke on the carpet (NOT his.  He doesn't drink soda to this day).  I sat and talked to a near stranger about things I didn't even like to think about.  And just like that, a friendship I didn't see coming blossomed.

I can't tell you how many nights we sat up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and telling stories.  I stayed at her house so much Trenton and I had a room and I was dubbed her husband's (Brandon) second wife. 

The best birthday I've ever had was because of them.  We got all jazzed up and Brandon rented an Escalade so I could feel special and we all went out drinking and dancing and just went nuts.  It was FABULOUS!  They treated me like I was special.  And I felt special.  In that little group of my favorite people, I was happy.

That period of my life was one of the best I can remember.  I couldn't tell you how many times Deb made me smile.  Or laugh.  Or cry (in a good way).  I can tell her anything.  ANYTHING and know she isn't going to judge.  She might laugh at me, but that's 100% okay with me.  :)  It makes me feel better.

I don't know that I would have made it out of my disasterous divorce without her as my confidant, shelter, and best friend. 

I adore her and everything she stands for.  She's the nicest, strongest, most giving human I have EVER met.  And I mean that.  With everything I am, I mean that. 

I'm proud of her strength in her recent cloud of trials.  A lesser person would have broken.  I would have broken.  Emotionally and mentally.  But not my Deb.  Further deepening my respect {envy} of her ability to push through and perservere.

I love my Deb.