My Laura

This is my beautiful friend, Laura.  When I think of my oldest and dearest friend, I think of her.  I know I had other friends before I moved to Jay, OK in 4th grade but she is the one I remember being my first friend when we moved there.  And she stayed my friend from then on.  We were typical friends in the sense that we fought but we loved each other also.  As we got older and moved away, we didn't get to always stay in each others life like we would have wanted to but it was always important to me that I never lose contact with her.  She meant way to much to me to ever forget her.

 The week before Mother's Day her Grandmother "Granny" died.  Granny lived here in the Oklahoma City area so when she and her boys needed somewhere to stay they stayed with our family.  It was such a blessing for me to be able to do that for her.  Her boys got to spend time with my boys while she was dealing with hard things that come with getting ready for a funeral.

One of the greatest things that came out of this for me was the opening up of Laura and her childhood.  We were so close but I didn't really know much of anything about her family and background.  Looking back now, there was so much I didn't tell her and so much she didn't tell me.  I know I could have trusted her but I just didn't open up about personal things back then.  And she herself just couldn't tell me what was going on.  I guess what I'm trying to get at is that it is so nice to grow older.  I so enjoyed all that she shared with me during those 3 days.  

 Years ago, probably around when we were 16 or so, Laura's sister Stephanie spent a few weeks with Laura.  She was younger than we were but I loved her immediately.  I hadn't seen her since that summer, so many years ago, but with Granny passing I was able to see her again.  They are such beautiful sisters and friends.

I love this picture of her because it shows off her new tattoo.  It is special to her because her daughter is the one that put it on her.  It describes her perfectly to me.  I don't know that Laura even had 1 tattoo before Skye started tattoos but once Skye started that hobby, Laura wanted to support it.  Because she loves her daughter in all things, I think she has 3 tattoos now.

I'm so grateful for my friends.  What they teach me.  How much they have loved me through the years, even through the miles that have separated us.