Hopeful.

Hope is one of the very first friends in life that I remember having. I moved to Fort Dale when I was in first grade, and shortly after she and I became best friends.

We lived down the road from each other, and many summer days we walked to one another’s houses to swim or play. We played city league softball together for years. We spent many nights at the Fort Deposit Spirit Club field watching our daddy’s play softball, or playing ourselves. We ran through Calico Fort like we owned it. It was a beautiful childhood, filled with precious memories.

Hope’s parents were divorced, and she lived with her dad. One Christmas we were concerned about him not having enough gifts so we got all the change we could find and we went to “Bill’s Dollar Store” for her to buy him gifts. I am sure that those dollar gifts were far from the nicest things he received, but I know that even now as an adult, I have not seen gifts given with any more love and pride than the ones Hope gave her dad that Christmas.

Our friendship endured a lot. Divorces and deaths. Moves. We grew up together. And I thank God that he chose Hope for me to share some of those first times life lessons with.

We went on vacations together. The beach most often, but once to Disney World. I remember her mom telling us that a lot of friends would come along, but that we should stick together. And she was right. A lot of friends did come along. And we traveled through different groups of friends, but at the end of the day when we really need something, we have always found our way back to the first real friendship that I remember.

I greatly appreciate her daddy and hold him in high regard. Any dad who will raise his child alone, should be really respected. As a mother, I know that being a single parent would be so hard. As a dad, I am sure at times it felt impossible. But he did a really good job, and as adults I love to see the friendship they share. My daddy preached Hope’s wedding when she married Ty a couple of years ago, and the bonds of our family run deep and are permanent.

Life gives you few friends who stick with you through it all. Few friends who are close enough to you to tell you the truth. Friends who try to stop you from making mistakes, and when you do, beg you to correct them.

I am thankful for “Hopeful” as I have always called her, and pray that our friendship sees many years to come.

30 years.

Tim turned thirty. And we celebrated! I earned a bonus at the beginning of the school year, for work I had done the previous year. It wasn't a huge bonus, but it was enough to help me take Tim to New York City for his birthday! He had never flown commercial.. and so the airport was an experience in itself! We stayed three nights (as long as I thought I could leave the babies!) and they were jammed packed.

The first night we visit Times Square, and the Empire State Building at night. The next day we went on a boat ride around the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Brooklyn Bridge. After that we went to Chinatown and Little Italy. We had a wonderful italian lunch and then we went to the hotel to rest for a little while.

The hotel was beautiful. We actually got a complimentary upgrade when we got there.. and for NYC we had a nice size room, with a small sitting area.. and a fridge full of drinks.. that they restocked daily (FOR FREE!!).

Anyway, Thursday night we went to Spiderman on Broadway. It was so much fun! It was actually my first Broadway show. We had dinner at Guy's, the host of Diners, Driveins, and Dives.

Friday, we rode the subway to Yankee Stadium. It was something that Tim has always really wanted to do, so I enjoyed it! After that we went to Centray Park. We bargained with a man who gives tours pulling a carriage to get him to a rate we could afford. It was an hour tour of the park, and my favorite thing we did the whole time. We stood on the center of Manhattan and saw the John Lennon Memorial.. not to mention the You've Got Mail bridge!! It was so special to me. We also visited Wall Street, Fifth Avenue, and Saint Patricks Cathedral. We got there at Black Friday Mass, so we stayed awhile to see what that was all about. We had dinner at this great place, Niles. We ended the night at a local diner eating cheesecake and watching basketball.

On Saturday, we went to the 911 Memorial. I didnt spend alot of time thinking about things there. What happened in that spot was terrible, and it changed the world I lived in. I have to not dwell on sad things for my mental healths sake, and so Tim went and really looked and read everything. I found this little tree that had lived through those terrible events and spent my time there. We had our final lunch at Serendipity. They have a famous frozen hot chocolate that was amazing.

It was one of the best trips of my life. Little things that could have gone wrong.. like Tim leaving his cell phone in a cab..didn't. The cab drive came to the cathedral to find it and replace it. The flights were smooth. The weather was amazing.

It was just this wonderful reminder that Tim is more than just a husband and dad. He is my very best friend. I am thankful to God for making him mine!!

Happy 30th Tim! I love you!