Dear daughter,
The last two months have brought about many changes. You have had friendships change drastically, and new friendships have formed. February was by far, the hardest month you have faced when it comes to testing friendships. You lost your best friend of the past four years. He has been such a huge part of your life and now you are trying to pick up those pieces. He has made choices and said and done things to you that made that friendship shatter into a million pieces. But, where one friendship ends, you allow room in your heart for other friendships to grow, for new people to come in, and to see what new chapters start in your life.
That boy, the one you took to the dance, the one that you have enjoyed growing your friendship with is another friendship that is struggling right now. I think, over time, and with some healing of wounds and the ability to talk, things will change with that. Things have been said, assumptions made, other people's words exchanged that have made that friendship take a back burner. As time goes on, I think that things will change and your friendship will grow again. He is kind of stuck with you, you seem to be there at all the bad times. I saw your reaction first hand when he got knocked out coming off of a bull. The fact that the two of you haven't been talking didn't change a thing. You were the one standing there, holding your breath, holding his mom, and scared out of your mind. His friendship is that important to you. You joked that you would know how serious he was hurt if he talked to you and he did. You volunteered to go back home with his family, to make sure he woke up every two hours, to help with whatever they needed. That, my daughter, is the truest of friends. You packed up his gear bag, you got him water to drink, you made sure his parents were ok. Later, you cried. You know what could have been, you know his friendship means. I pray that it will get better, that he will talk to you again, and that your friendship will grow stronger. There are just a couple of factors, a couple of people who haven't helped the situation much. But, it will get there. You just have to be patient because some of the best things take time.
You are lucky that you have developed friendships since joining high school rodeo. You have had friends who have made sure that you would have horses to ride, who are helping you out in every way possible so that you can have the chance to do what you love. I am so thankful that a young man introduced you to a girl who could help you out when you need it. She is a little crazy, a lot of fun, and you have tons and tons of inside jokes that involve her. Your friendship goes through its ups and downs. You are pretty different in your personalities but you also balance each other out. She also knows what it is like to have a guy for a best friend, the struggles that it brings, and the challenges that other people make it into. I am thankful that she came in your life, and that your friendship will get to grow over the coming years.
As far as the new chapters... You have gained a best friend, a sister, the blonde to your brunette, the short to your tall, and everything in between. I am so glad that the two of you ignored what was said and made the decision to talk and then to meet, and so quickly find out just how much you mean to each other. You gave me a new daughter, a girl who I have fallen in love with just like my own kids. I love the adventures you have been on together so far. I love that she pushed you in directions you were determined not to go. I love that she has your back and your best interests in her heart at all times. I couldn't ask for a better friend to have been placed in your life when she was. God has a way of giving us what we need when we least expect it. You were given a gift in the form of a friendship that will stand the test of time. That friendship is life long and lasting. You finally have a girlfriend who isn't judging you when you do stupid things, she is doing them right next to you. She isn't trying to sever friendships, or to think that she needs to talk about you behind your back. She is your biggest cheerleader, and you are hers. I have been watching this friendship developing and I couldn't have asked for a better friend to be put into your life. I know that the two of you have many grand adventures ahead. You balance each other out, and you can talk about anything and everything to each other.
The other new chapter, well that one gets a page of its own. And, that is where this page ends and we turn to a blank page, one that is being written right now, and that involves another friendship.
Love,
Mom
