I realized last week that my friend Vicky has shown me how to be my best self.
She and Bob left Monday after spending a fun-filled long weekend here at our house and camping at Kansas Speedway. We met Bob and Vicky in Florida, where we had the good fortune of being camped across the road from them for the last 2 or 3 years.
This year, we all just clicked. I mean, really, how often is it that a couple actually meets another couple and everybody likes each other?
“I wish we lived closer and could do more things together,” Bob said when they left.
“I wish we lived closer,” my husband said when they left.
Friendship is an amazingly wonderful thing. I am proud to say I have a number of wonderful girlfriends who keep me grounded, listen to me patiently, drink with me if I need them to, tell me when I’m being an idiot, if I have spinach in my teeth, or toilet paper on my shoe (usually neither of which my husband notices.)
I adore them all, and I learn something from every.single.one.
But everyone needs a friend like Vicky. And if you don’t currently have a friend like Vicky, I suggest you immediately seek one out.
We are all creatures of habit. Habit is comforting and familiar, and feels good in our stressed ever-busy lives.
Life feels good when we’re in a rut.
The problem is, a rut isn’t always good for us. Too much of a good thing is not always a good thing.
Vicky pushes me out of my comfort zone, in a good way.
You see, I like to color inside the lines. I am not a rule breaker. Oh sure, I might be funny and outgoing and creative, but I like to do this all within the confines of what’s comfortable. It’s human nature.
A couple of years ago, during a leadership retreat, my classmates and I participated in an exercise in which we all had to share one positive thing about each other.
My friend Cass, who is wonderfully ballsy, outspoken and authentic, (which I struggle with) sat down, put her hands on my knees and leaned forward.
“You know doll, the thing about you is that you need to get out of your own way,” she said sincerely, her eyes crinkling with her smile.
Truer, more profound words were never spoken. WOW. I was stunned. How did she know? And I knew she was right.
Life teaches conformity. Life teaches you to blend in if you want to be comfortable. Because life can be very uncomfortable for you if you’re too unique.
I determined right then and there to let my redneck flag fly, so to speak. To be authentic. To be me. To be my best self.
And then along came Vicky.
Vicky is bold, beautiful, has great style, and is comfortable in her own skin. She pushes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to be a better version of myself. And she makes me laugh. A lot.
She’s been through hard times, good times, challenging times, wonderful times, and they’ve enriched the fabric that’s her life. She’s encouraged me to walk away from the mental checklist and open my eyes to new activities and new things. Thanks to her, I’ve developed a passion for swimsuit cover ups, breaking the (self-imposed) rules, and embracing life – and a wider variety of cocktails – with gusto.
I have a tendency to get too wrapped up in the hamster wheel that is life, forgetting that the little things really ARE the big things.
Just this weekend, she came up with several great ideas for my living room. Sunday evening we rearranged my furniture. She saw things I simply hadn’t thought about, no longer noticed.
Because when you live in your home, after a while you don’t see things anymore. Day in and day out, you walk by the same things and after a while you no longer see them.
That’s why people call me to help them with their houses! Because I don’t live there, and I can see things they don’t.
My dear friend Christine tells me that every year I get her deeper out of her comfort zone wearing different, new colors. That’s what is so wonderful about the tapestry that we call friendship. We all give to each other.
Friendship surely has to be one of life’s best treasures. Do you have a friend who helps you be your best self?
Cheers, friends!
