Gratitude Days 9-10: Amanda, Amelia, Carolyn

I had a bit of a struggle initially to think of something to be grateful for initially. But only for a split second, because even though some not great things happened, they do not outweigh the good. This is what I am noticing the more days I do this gratitude thing. 

You may not know this about me, but I do not like driving 90% of the time. (I am grateful I work with my husband and we can carpool most days.) Yesterday, I was driving Caleb's car and it died on the center lane on the highway during rush hour. Today, I was driving my car and got rear-ended. I am fine, the rear-ending was at a very slow speed and my car has no damages (to my untrained eye). I have never been in a car accident before, so I am thankful that this one was not terrible, but it still made me want to give up driving. 

I am grateful for these women:

Carolyn, Amelia, Amanda

Amanda and Carolyn are two of the awesomest friends anyone could ever wish for. 

Amanda is a storyteller and spends a lot of time weaving words together to tell about beauty and hard things. You want to visit that link and read her blog. She also asks really good questions. I have experienced this with her in person and on the phone for many years. We actually used to celebrate our friendiversary (that's like how couples celebrate how long they've been together, except we celebrate our platonic relationship). Our friendiversary is sometime in January 2008. 

Carolyn was my roommate until Caleb became my roommate and I cannot sum up how awesome she is. She is a great listener and problem solver. Also, she helps me be stylish and not look like a hippie all the time. She is fluent in español, and she loves to teach middle schoolers. [Caro, eres la leche.] Also, she is adorable and looks like a model. 

Amanda picked me up after my car mishap yesterday and took me to Carolyn's house, where we ate, swapped clothes, and went for a walk. They made my day so much better, it was hard not to feel anything but grateful for an evening with them. 

Amelia is my cousin and therefore holds the title of my oldest friendship. We played and imagined together for many years and now we're all grown up and she has two beautiful babies. (AND I GET TO MEET THE NEWEST ONE ON SATURDAY!!... not that I'm excited or anything.) 

I remember when I was growing up, if Amelia was not going to be at a family gathering, I was certain I would be bored out of my mind. Did you have relatives like this? She loved all the coolest things: dolls, Barbies, catching frogs, turtles and baby mice, swimming, reading, cooking, dressing up, and convincing our parents to walk out to the pond and protect us from... well, I'm not quite sure what they were protecting us from, but we were not allowed to climb over the fence by ourselves. Also, we were the only two people who didn't like softball or baseball, which gave us an extra special bond. 

So, as you can see, I have a lot to be thankful for today and yesterday. What are you thankful for?