Sunshine

Had a great time this past weekend celebrating McKenna's 7 birthday.  First on Saturday with many of her little friends and then on Sunday with our family at home.  I truly felt like she was surrounded by nothing but love all weekend.  I don't think she stopped smiling the whole time.  She was worn out and so was I but it was all worth it.
I felt like the theme "you are my sunshine" was so perfect because McKenna is like that for me.  Whenever I'm down or sad or having a rough day, I can always count on her to do something that cheers me up. It's been like that since she was a baby.  Even now, when she can tell that I'm missing Gary or struggling with Michael, she'll give me an extra hug or tell me a joke or something to put a smile on my face.  I love her for that.  She is my sunshine, for sure.
And I can't help but think about the other "sunshines" in my life.  These past few months have been so crazy with Gary being gone.  Often times, I write on here about my parents and the rest of my family because, let's face it, they are just the best.  But I've yet to write about my girlfriends.

My friends have come through for me in more ways than I can count.  They've been there to listen to me cry, to watch my kids, to have dinner with me,  or a girls movie night in.  We meet for coffee and a treat at Panera or meet to take the kids to the playground after school.  We love to laugh and we have all kinds of inside jokes and special memories that will last us a lifetime. We like to go out and pretend we're young and wild and free, and then whine to each other the next morning about how we shouldn't have stayed out so late because we're too old for this crap! I can tell them anything and trust them to keep it safe.  They have husbands that I adore and kids that mean the world to me.

As I've gotten older and wiser, I realize that it definitely isn't about how many friends you have, it's more about the quality of the friends you have.  These ladies I've met here are some of the kindest, most compassionate, honest, and giving people I've ever known.  I can honestly say that I would be in bad shape right now without them by my side.  They are my sunshine on a daily basis.  And I love them all so very much.
Hope ya'll have a little sunshine in your lives too
: ) -j.