The ‘Net’

No, not the Sandra Bullock movie (though bonus points for you if you knew that was a SB movie). And no, not the abbrevs vers of the Internet.

For the purposes of this entry, the Net refers to a group of friends. It’s a term that was used by a favorite blogger of mine, Kelle Hampton, in her recent amazing book that you should buy and read twice, “Bloom,” to describe her friends and family that were there to catch her and her loved ones when they were falling, when they ran into some circumstances that tested their strength.

I liked it, so I’m using it here.

I want to tell you about my “Net.” If my group of friends, was in fact a literal net, they’d be more like a patchwork quilt, stretched out tightly to catch me but still comfy and cozy and familiar. There’s no way I’d hit the ground and their warmth would surround me on all sides until I was ready to stand up again.

It’s not really a new discovery that I have great friends. I’ve known for quite a while. But I think with the weddings and new babies coming along and the growing up and moving on things, it’s becoming more apparent who is here to stay and why.

I’d put my friends into the two groups they are already in – the group I spend Game Nights and Field Days and Fake Proms and other random ridiculously awesome nights with – and the group we call CKR. (See related post about those kids here). There are a few outside of those two groups but they’re the main, strongest, longest-term ones so far.

Though one’s made up of significantly more family, every single one in both groups is my family. We’ve been through too much together not to be.

These friends, all of them, are the ones who:
• Know what you’re thinking with one look and vice versa.
• Know what you’ll say before you say it.
• Hurt when you’re hurting and feel joy when you feel joy.
• Will be there right beside you for your highest highs and your lowest lows.
• Will come spend the night and/or keep you company without having to talk about what it is that’s going on. They just know that you don’t want to be alone.
• Love on your babies like they were their own, in fact it almost feels like they are, weirdly enough.
• Welcome your significant other with open arms, unless he or she mistreats you or others, in which case, LOOK OUT.
• Send you silly text messages that are perfect when you’ve had a bad day.
• Are there for your “moments,” big or small, and encouraging you along the way.
• Want only what’s best for you.
• Know that sometimes all you need is a hug or a look and to know someone else “gets it.”
• Knows all your faults and loves you in spite of them, and sometimes even makes fun of you for them, but they’re allowed to.
• Make you laugh until you can’t breathe, you’re crying happy tears and your abs hurt like you did P90x.

Many people are lucky to have one person like this in their life. I am blessed to have several. And even more blessed that some of those I included up there are family.

Yes, my sisters and I are the anomaly that are friends and are close and can actually stand each other – which doesn’t always happen with siblings, especially sisters. They are two of the people I have the most fun with. Same goes for cousins, which is even rarer, but when your family is like ours and has the closeness we do, you’ve grown up like brothers and sisters so it’s only natural to treat them as such, in this case, by spending our free time with them, because they’re some of the best, funniest, funnest, most supportive, wonderful people in our lives.

There has been and will continue to be lots to celebrate with these kiddos, and I look forward to every bit of it.

And there will be hard times too, but they will be there for me and I will be there for them, that “Net” stretched out, ready and waiting to catch them when they fall and hold onto them until they’re ready to stand on their own.