This week I will meet my dear circle of local photographer-girlfriends (my “kindred spirits”, as Anne of Green Gables would call them!), for breakfast and for some much-deserved girl time. There will be plenty hugs, a little shop-talk, oodles of laughter, and quite the stream of tears, I’m certain. You see, one of our sweet friends will be leaving us, moving across the country to follow a dream and to be near family.
My heart leaps with excitement for her, her husband, and their twin boys, and the adventure on which they are about to embark. I applaud her family’s strength and determination, and their courage to step out and make such a bold move ~ to follow a lifelong dream no matter where it takes them! My heart is truly overjoyed for her!
But that same heart also breaks into a thousand little pieces for myself and for the rest of the girls here who will miss her so when she leaves. Thankfully, she’s promised to journey back to Tampa from time to time for visits, and we can definitely fly out west to let her give us the official tour of Seattle! I will still get to follow her amazing blog and read about her new adventures, watch her boys grow up in their new surroundings, and revel in the beauty she finds in families and children or in ordinary day-to-day things when she’s behind that lens.
Yes, we’ll always stay connected. But it still hurts to see her go!
I’ll miss her always-smiling eyes and her genuine, friendly laugh. I love her way of unknowingly opening up your heart when it would just as soon stay closed. I’m in awe of her boundless energy and enthusiasm and her amazing way with kids, including my own! She’s infamous for her divine adoration of Panera Bread breakfast sandwiches, animals in need of rescue, and recycling. ;) I’m forever touched by her gentle, giving spirit and her belief in the true goodness in all people. And most of all, I’ll miss her very real way of connecting her heart to yours in an instant. I’m sure that we’ve begun a friendship that will certainly last longer than a fateful workshop weekend, more than a handful of years on the calendar, and certainly more than a couple thousand miles.
As women, I feel it’s so important for us to have close friends to share in our journey through life. Friends who listen when you need an empathetic ear, and who feel comfortable in coming to you when they need your shoulder as well. Someone who lifts your spirits when you need to get back up, and settles you when you need to take it down a notch (or three). ;) A girlfriend who laughs with you, cries with you, knows when to give advice and when to withhold it. A girl after your own heart who will be glad to share a pint of ice cream or the last slice of cheesecake with you. An ever-on-call heart. I’m lucky to have found a few of these rare kindred spirits throughout my life. Well, maybe not lucky. . . I think blessed is more like it.
Do you have extra-special friends in your life? Women who are true gems and whom you can’t imagine your life without? Please do share your stories with us here, and then most importantly, call that same friend and let her know how much she is cherished. I promise to do the same.
Co-editor, Stacey Woods is an on-location, natural light lifestyle photographer for the Tampa Bay, FL area. Her favorite subjects are expecting mamas, the tiniest of babies, and children of all ages. Her online photo journal can be found at Stacey Woods Photography. Stacey’s own husband and children (a 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter) are her greatest source of inspiration… and laughter!
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