"I've Got You..." For S.B.

When I was younger (alright, fine, until I was like 20), I always had one close friend and then a bunch of others who lived on the periphery. I thought that I only needed one because that one person could be everything I needed. I unfairly expected that my one friend could be it all- the listener, the partier, the caregiver, the fun one, the wise one, the sporty one, the smart one- everything I needed all rolled into one. How hard it must have been to be my friend, to feel as though you had to be everything, instead of just who you were.

Luckily, as I grew into my twenties, I realized that it's important and natural to have a group of friends. That each of us is meant to fill a role, sometimes more than one, in our friendships. But we're not meant to fill all the roles at one time. I've come to value my friends for who they are and for what each of us a brings to our friendship. I have the friend I turn to when I need a fun night out (L.C.); the one I go to for the mundane, every day parts of life (L.M.); the person who is as dorky and book-loving as I am (M.R.; S.W.; T.B.); the friend who has been around forever (J.S.); and the person I can turn to with everything and anything (S.B.).

S.B. and I went out for coffee today and while we were sitting there chatting, I started thinking about how blessed I am to have her in my life. She gets me in a way that makes our friendship feel so easy to me. We share some of the deepest conversations I've ever had with anyone, yet nothing feels like work. There is no heaviness there. Every time I leave our dates, whether we were serious or silly, I feel lighter, more confident in myself, understood, and loved. She takes me for everything I am and she loves me for it. Now, I'm not saying that my other friends don't do this, they absolutely do, but I feel like this is the main role S.B. plays in my life. She's the friend I turn to when my world is upside. She's the one I text when I need to complain. She's the one who listens to me ramble and makes me feel heard. Somehow, through our conversations, I walk out the other side changed. Better. More whole.

When I first saw this dance routine (as all my posts appear to stem from SYTYCD), I immediately thought of S.B. Not the romantic, sexual parts of the dance, but the message behind it all. The idea that someone's "got you." That someone will be there even before I fall.

S.B.- I love you and am so blessed to have you in my life.