God Bless Friends!

My Children are the sweetest, gentlest, and caring of beings. Never the less, they are still children. For every sweet hand that brushes through my hair and innocent gaze into loving eyes, there is a temper tantrum. For every "thank you", "your welcome", and "God bless you" there is also a bunch of "No", "Mine", "Get out", and my not so favorite "Go Away!". For every hug and kiss comes a push or a hit, and so on and so on. I am sure you catch my drift.

Sometimes the hardest part of the day is when my phone rings. They have a built in psychic beacon that tunnels in the direction of a melt down once they hear that phone ring. Can you imagine two screaming toddlers and an eight year old needing my immediate assistance while trying to talk on the phone? As one might imagine, just that alone makes my stress level shoot through the roof.

It is a challenge every day for me to truck on down the wonderful road of motherhood. I am often alone while my husband is off afloat on the ocean somewhere, or in some third world country, so I rely on the chatter and company of good friends. I am truly blessed to have some of the most wonderful friends in my life. Some still here on the island, and some spread out through the mainland. Courtney, Hayley, Crista, my dearest friends since childhood that have stuck with me through the hurdles and tribulations in life. I miss them so much. Tasha, Keith, Amber, Kuhio, Pat, John, Moe - another bunch of friends that will always be considered to be some of my dearest and closest friends. Most of these friends are no longer here on the island. I am blessed to still have some wonderful friends still here on the island that I get to share my daily ramblings with and insane states of being. Ford, Rita, Jennifer, Lauren, Will, Rain, Danielle - I have no idea what I would do with out their friendship and company.

Looking back on the different chapters of my life, I have made some great friends in each of them, and am lucky enough to have them all standing by my side today. It is so easy to fall into a category of just a "Mother" and a "Wife" and forget about all the other parts of you that make you, YOU. I have made many truly great and wonderful friends through out my years, some sadly I lost and miss, but a majority of them have stayed amazingly close. These wonderful people I get to call my "Sanity keepers".

The other night I was fortunate enough to go out with a few of my dear sweet friends. I do not go out often at all, especially with out my husband! It was a wonderful treat and just what the doctor ordered. What a treat it was to be able to go out with some wonderful friends.

The next morning I felt re-charged, unwound, and ready to face a day full of the tiny ramblings of a two and three year old, and the steady assignments of spelling and math of my eight year old.

God Bless Family and Friends!