"I really suck at this whole life thing but you're my friend anyway."

"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour." A Christmas Carol

     Each day I concentrate on something that I am grateful to have in my life. Today it's friends. Cliche, I know but I'm grateful for them because of the laughter they bring to my life. It'd be impossible for me to write about all of my friends in this one blog so I have to write about the girl who has stuck through thick and thin with me. Around the year 1997 I stumbled into Pulaski, TN with overalls in every fabric imaginable, brushed out curls and no friends. I asked the girl in the stretchy pants at the lunch table to be my best friend and the rest is history. I've no recollection of meeting my best friend but she's relayed the story to me enough that I believe it whether it be true or not. She's been there through everything. We had our first fight over Santa Claus. She told me if I didn't believe in Santa that I didn't believe in God. In the fifth grade we kept sprained ankles in an attempt to wear heels like the spice girls, ate an entire pan of fudge in one night and painted her dog's nails. She heard me swear for the first time when I forgot to edit a Spice Girls song that I had been singing. I made her promise she'd never tell anyone that I had done that or that I had a crush on Lance Bass. I should have kept the latter to myself; that's still embarrassing. We had our fights in high school over boys that now seem trivial and hilarious but felt real at the time. We spent an entire summer riding around listening to "The Essential Michael Jackson" and eating Sonic. I crawled onto Kayla's porch the first time I ever had a hangover and waited for her to get home. We spent the entire day watching workout videos and eating junk food but never actually doing the workout. She helped me write a letter for a contest to win Jonas Brothers and prodded me to use the cancer card in hopes of sympathetic readers. It didn't work but she still went to the concert with me. For now, Kayla lives in Florida and I absolutely hate that she is that far away but am proud of her for getting out. She makes me laugh more than most anyone I know; even if it is unintentional. Years later and we've upped the ante to two casserole pans in a night between us. I'm not ashamed. The point I'm trying to get across is that I realize how blessed I've been to have a friend like Kayla. Not many people keep friends from elementary school. I'm blessed to have all of my friends.

     I realize that somehow I've collected the most hilarious group of friends. I'm embarrassed to say that some have even made me pee myself with laughter. I love waking up to a post on my Facebook or Twitter from my friends because I know it's going to cause me to giggle. Everyone knows my love of people falling and luckily, right along with my hilarious friends comes their clumsiness. My closest friends embrace who they are and I can't express to them how much that means to me. Whether it's Margaret falling off a fence, Nikki bouncing off a rock, Kaitlin running from a tornado with me, Tracy falling down in a cave, Lauren giving us a Friday present by riding down the stairs, or any of the other countless clumsy moments my friends have had I'm so glad they're all there. If I didn't mention you it wasn't because I forgot you or don't love you.  Maybe you're just a bit more sure footed than the rest :) Anyways, please feel free to remind me of any hilarious moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FPDKwtVns