I've never been one to have many friends.

I could come up with a whole slew of reasons but what it just comes down to is loyalty. I guess I always found it easier to be fiercely loyal to your friends when you didn't have a million of them. Don't get me wrong, I have many friends. But close, dear, sisterhood friends... Well, those numbers are few.

But when you have friends like I do, it doesn't matter if there is 1 or 100. Let me explain:

One of my dearest friends ever is Jen. We met when I transferred to Orem and was working with her Husband Gary. The first time I met her was at our store Christmas Party. We were all out in the living room and kitchen eating and playing games. She was stuck in her bedroom with a broken leg. Serious enough to have needed surgery.

So I guess I didn't really meet her then, I just heard her voice. But I digress.
When I transferred back to Murray and a position opened up for an additional Tech (I was a phone technician at a Nationwide Cell Phone Provider) I thought of Jen.

During that time in my life I was not a nice person. But that is a whole blog series of its own. Needless to say, its a true glimpse of Jen's character that she is still my friend.

We have been pregnant at the same time with both our children. Their due dates were always SO close. And it was a HUGE shock to us as it was NOT planned. Our daughters ended up being born about 1 1/2 days apart.

We were able to experience those first time mother things together and then remind each other how to do it the second time around. We had the same parenting schedule so we could call and ask for tips and advice. Play dates were awesome because we did things the same way.

When Noah was born and I needed someone to care for Lilly, she was there. I didn't want to take Lilly away from her home, knowing that we would be leaving for a long time very shortly. I tried to keep things comfortable for her. Jen understood. She brought her family up to play with Lilly while Shane and I were getting the transplant transportation and odds and ends taken care off. There are no words to explain what that meant to me. But she knew how much I needed it.

These sort of events continue to repeat themselves. As is the case when you find yourself blessed enough to have a friend like mine.

Tomorrow (Friday, as I am writing this late Thursday night) is her Birthday. Tonight was her Birthday dinner celebration and I had to miss it. Lilly being sick, chance we are all infected, and the yucky side effects of the Tamiflu that makes you feel like crud... It just wouldn't have been right to crash her party and bring a gift (of the pig variety) to her guests.

So what does she do?

She drives, completely out of her way I might add, to my house to give Shane and I our favorite flavors of Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

She missed us and didn't want us to miss out on the treats. You would think it was my birthday and not hers. But see, that's just the type of friend she is.

One time, she even drove the 30plus minutes to my house, in the middle of the night, to bring me a slurpee.

I adore her. I respect her, I admire her. I love her. She is a sister to me. Her family is part of my family. And my life is blessed just to have known her.

Happy Birthday Jen!

*Why don't you come and sit right here? *patpat*

**hugs**

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