"Friends! Ya gotta have friends!"

Let me begin by saying that i have a blog stewing in my brain about FAMILY....its not that this Friends topic takes precedence by any means, its just that i've yet to be able to put into words what i'd like to say. Its forthcoming, to be sure.

It has also been difficult to know where to start mentioning all the various acts of kindness bestowed upon my bunion-ed self! I have examples pop into my mind regularly, especially when i was in Houston...and i've decided to just start writing them down. It will undoubtedly take many blogs, but whatever it takes....they are all worthwhile stories.

Here's a few off the top of my head. I may elaborate later:

* My Nacogdoches Rollergirls sisters brought me a BIG basket FULL of goodies the night before i left for MD Anderson. It had reading material galore, healthy edibles, CASH, a sweet hand-made necklace, heart-touching artwork, art supplies, games, a framed picture of my son & I....and even more that has temporarily escaped me. The fun part was that i wasn't even expecting their stinky selves ....they all rolled up after a practice, to send me off with sweaty hugs and love. They are also regularly sending me warm & fuzzy vibes by checking in here and leaving comments. I'm surrounded by awesome gals i'm proud to call my friends! Its very uplifting!

* One of these crazy chicas put together some fun frocks for me to wear to the Sarcoma Center. At first i thought maybe she assumed i hadn't done my laundry in the midst of all the chaos, but i soon got her gist; it was like having a new outfit each day i was there~ (and we all know how that can lift a gal's spirits!) It also made for super easy and carefree packing. I'll remember this simple gesture whenever i have a friend in a similar situation....it was great!

* I stayed with some dear friends in Houston, who made this trip almost feel like a vacation. For one, they were very casual about the whole thing; just what the doctor ordered. There was no fussing over us (mom was with me, too!) and we felt so at home. Sandy helped out in the highly-recommended "retail therapy" and her husband was UBER patient about having 2 extra women in the house for 4 days! We laughed until our faces hurt...also highly recommended medicine.

* And for now, last but in NO WAY the least, was Terry's calm influence in a time of near panic for me. My car broke down in my driveway right as we were leaving Wednesday morning for our appointment. We had about 45 minutes to spare before we would've missed our appointment...and at first we thought it was a flat. It ended up being more serious, to the extent that had it broken down on the road, we would've most likely been in an accident...and missed the appointment that i waited 10 days to get!!!!

As my mind rushed, trying to think of people i knew who might be able to spare a car for a few days, not even thinking of taking the time to rent a car...i thought to call Terry. He calmly said "Ruby, its ok...take the church van." It hadn't even occured to me! Brad brought it home, we loaded it up and were on the road just 15 minutes later. Thank GOD!!

This van is a HUGE 16 passenger thing that brought us comic relief the whole trip. We got a kick out of trying to park it, driving it in traffic and never fearing losing it in a parking lot. It also came in handy for all the fruits of our "retail therapy"!

Enough for now...i've just scratched the surface here.