The Three-Legged Stool

Oh my Lord…nostalgia is such a slippery slope for me.

So back on Monday I was digging through some of my old photos looking for a picture of Carrie and me from the 1990’s. I have this whole stack of photos taken with my friends Carrie and Suzanne dating back to probably 1994.

As I sat on the floor the other night looking through them, it made me smile thinking of all the fun times we’ve had during the course of 20 years. All the hairstyles and fashions. There’s some good stuff in there. And I would like to state for the record that no one rocked the denim vests or overalls harder than we did.

We are long distance friends, the three of us. We maybe get to see each other a couple times a year…if we’re lucky. And yet, we are so connected. There is a bond. I don’t know how else to describe it. From the night we met – it was instantaneous. And all these years later, we are still close.

I know it might sound strange that three women who live 1000 miles apart from each other can be best friends. Technology helps that’s for sure. Email, texting, Facebook, Instagram. All those great things keep us close and able to keep up with what’s going on in each others’ lives. So grateful for that. Truly.

I guess lately what I’m missing though is that face to face interaction. There’s just no substitute for that. And it’s times like these that I wish so much we could meet for coffee. Or go out for lunch. Sit on the back porch and have a glass of wine. Enjoy the ‘everyday’ stuff with other.

We have this tradition that whenever we all three get together, we exchange little gifts. A few years ago, Suzanne bought us all these matching ‘friends’ bracelets. By the time we finished opening our packages we were all three in tears. Our kids were all rolling their eyes, but it didn’t matter. We got it. This friendship is a special thing.

The three of us together are an interesting dynamic. I like to say that we are a three-legged stool. We each bring our own strengths and talents to the party, but together our sum is greater than our parts. And I think what it is, is that we see the best in each other and because of that we can start to believe the best in ourselves. For me, I know that when we are together I am stronger, braver, more confident. It’s just one of the many gifts of this friendship.

When I look back through these photos I think about how we’ve been through so much together. We’ve seen each other at our most fabulous, but more importantly we’ve been there for each other at our most vulnerable. I can’t imagine going through life without them.

So as we begin a the month devoted to gratitude, I am feeling so thankful for the strange twist of fate that brought the three of us together. And I am so grateful for the blessing of their friendship. 

Love, Kelly