Maryland....*sigh*

"Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher."

So, I got to spend time with some of my favorite people today several different groups of favorite people, but the one that i made me the happiest was being with my Maryland girls. There is just something about being with people that have known you forever and who know you SO well...they have known me in my awkward phases, in my happiest times, in my saddest times, at my brattiest (how do you spell that) moments and at my best (once or twice). At one point we were all each other had, we are best friends and we know everything about each other. We saw each other today because we went to Laura's bridal shower. Jen has already gotten married and Laura is getting married in May. We all have very seperate lives and have all changed tons since our awkward days of young womens where girls camp inside jokes ruled our lives. But when we get together it's the greatest feeling! I left today with the greatest feeling of complete joy. We have all moved on but when we get together nothing has changed. And we don't just live in the past. We update on each others lives now and we truly care about each other and love to be together. We can talk for hours, and we do. Sure, we spend some of that time reminiscing about the old times, we tell the same jokes everytime, so much that friends that aren't from Maryland now know those jokes too...Feed the Children, Hot...dog...spice ruff ruff, CHOCOLATE, you have CURVES...etc...etc etc....Maybe it's because we shared some of our most defining years, or maybe we are just lucky to have the closest group of young women spanning from the 19 year olds "the beehives", to the 21 year olds "the mean mia maids (who aren't mean anymore)", and on up to the 23-24 year old Laurels and it has caused us to have life long friends. In high school the only friends I did have were my church friends and I liked it that way. We knew we would be together on weekends, even if we were watching the same stupid movie to the point that I still can't watch it to this day, or playing the same old games or telling the same old stories. Our mom's always mocked us because we would run to each other and hug whenever we saw each other, even if it had only been since seminary that morning. But that is what made the moment so special when I went back home after my first, and hardest semester away from home and when I walked into the church Laura was there and when we saw each other we screamed and then we hugged and then we sobbed and all of the people that were around just stood back and smiled because it was a reunion everyone was happy to see. Point is...life changes, and people change, but moments don't change. The small moments that have changed who you are don't change. They are what make you...you... I know we'll always get back together and we'll always pick up right where we left off. And I know we will always know that we have each other...Those girls are a part of me and that's something that will never change. I am grateful to always be blessed with incredible friends that touch my life and help me to become better. Maybe this is all just a crazy jumble of nothing...but I bet if my Bmore girls were to read it they would just nod and say...yeah...i totally know what she means. Laura will always be the most sarcastic with a lot of love right there with it, Beth C will always be the funniest with a great big heart, Brooke will always be the one that got teased the most and wears the most pink and always willing to bring the girls together, Em D will always be the quiet yet hilarious one, Em K will always be the one that started out shy and suddenly came out of her shell to become the sweetest funniest girl you'll ever meet, Jen will always be the boy crazy, psycho crazy flirt that we all adore, Heather will always be the one with the dry sense of humor and the oldest, so the wisest, Andrea always the sweet one that you get to know and find out she's kind of a tease, Alex the seemingly quiet sweet one that is right up there on the sarcasm front with Laur, and me..well I think I have been told I have always been the protective one and the motherly one. So, my bmore girls, I love you and I will always cherish the experiences we have shared and I will always hold you closest to my heart because you are the ones that taught me what it was like to be a friend and what it was like to have a friend.

"You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back." -Barbara DeAngelis

I had no idea, but apparently I am a minority. I had a conversation with my roommate last night that left me utterly disheartened and completely shocked to be perfectly honest with you. I don't know that I completely believe it so if any of you in the world of blog read this and have thoughts do share because I need other outlooks on this one.

Here goes, we were talking about how she and this guy, who is one of my close friends, broke up and about the issues that lead to them making this decision to break up. (They couldn't talk to each other.) She asked me how I became such good friends with him and I just told her that I did the same thing I do with a lot of my friendships. I open myself up to them and then hold on for dear life. Now if you're my friend...and you're reading this...and you hate that I hold on for dear life...I'm not going to apologize because it's something that makes me who I am and as I found out last night who I am may just be kind of unique. Am I making any sense? Here, I'll explain:

My roommate hasn't had a lot of close friendships in her life that's not me judging her, that is her own words. She told me she didn't understand how I could make friends with people and then with some of them end up with really good strong relationships and then keep them. She also didn't understand how one gets into a deep discussion. I told her that you just have to open up. You have to be willing to share your thoughts and feelings about something and then just trust that the person you are sharing those feelings with won't use them against you. I also mentioned that even though there have been people that took those thoughts and feelings that I shared and then ended up hurting me or just plain ripping my heart to pieces as they casually walked away...I don't regret those friendships, sure I wonder if I should have done something differently, but I didn't...so I should be grateful for the experience and for the things I learned from them. Sure, I'm not as willing to open up my heart to friends (new and old) as I once was and that is because I have been hurt but maybe not opening up my heart and letting them in isn't such a bad thing. I told her that so many times people have just either flat out told me, Beth once people are out of my line of vision they just aren't my friends anymore, I don't feel like it's worth it to put forth the effort. Or they have been one of my very closest friends, and then they move away and suddenly they have to be told to call me for me to hear from them at all..and yet I still hold on. I still care about these people. And that is when my roommate told me that she has never known anyone like me. (And I don't think she meant it in a good way.) She told me that she thinks most people are the type to make a friend and drop them 10 minutes later when they aren't convenient anymore. So is it really that odd that I make friends and have these people that are so so close to my heart and I am not willing to let go? And for those of you that are thinking this it, no, I don't think I am living in the past. I think I am holding onto something/someone that is dear to me and that has touched my life and why should I have to say goodbye to them right away? In time we may grow apart but that's not going to stop me from caring in the beginning. Ya know, friends are one of the most important things to me. (not the most important...one of the most important.) And I am not willing to just give up that easily and just not care because it may not work the way I planned, or just stop calling them because they moved out of my apartment complex/ward/state. Why let go if you don't have to? So is it true? Am I a minority? Am I the only one who makes friends and then holds on to them for dear life?

And to my dear friends, sorry if you wish I would let go but you're gonna have to do something horrible and rip my heart to pieces before I will let go (and it still might take me 2 years to fully let go inside) I am grateful for the blessing of friends and I don't want to take that for granted because maybe, just maybe, I won't be so blessed in the future if I'm not grateful. I love my friends and although I may experience heartache as they grow away from me, I still have those small moments, the random phone call or text message that comes and gives me a hint that it is worth hanging on just a little longer. There you have it...my philosophy on friendship....not very philisophical.

*note* i apologize for the run on sentences and poor grammar it's late and I am rushing and don't care enough to go back and fix it...so...deal. :-)

"Every piece of the universe, even the tiniest snow crystal, matters somehow. I have a place in the pattern, and so do you." -T A Barron

I matter...

Little old Beth Lynn in her little house and her little life in Utah matters.

I know what you're thinking. Um, hi, you're just now realizing it?

Yes...yes I am. A simple somewhat silly conversation with a good friend that involved relationships turned into something that I desperately needed. No he didn't profess his love to me...(thank goodness, he's like my brother!) he taught me a special lesson though.

I spend way too much time worrying about what other people are thinking. I worry because people don't say the things to me that I want them to say or sometimes even need them to say because they're being oblivious (i'm not judging..i've done it) I learned a lesson tonight that I have had to learn over and over again in my life and probably will have to learn again as ridiculous as that is.

I matter to my Heavenly Father. He has a plan for me that maybe I don't necessarily see happening how I thought it would. When other people let me down because they don't put forth as much as I put into them, or because they don't have just the right words that I need to hear. My Father in Heaven is there and He does hear me and He knows better then I do what I need. I have to be living worthily of His blessings.

Two of the things I am grateful for today:

A friend who was in tune enough with the spirit to be the mouth that could speak the words I needed to hear because I wasn't listening closely enough to hear it on my own.

And that the great wall that has slowly built up around my heart broke down enough today so that I could feel the pierce of what was said and the truthfulness of it.

That's a big jumble of thoughts right there but if nothing else...they make sense to me.

Moment of insecurity...?

So maybe this is just the expected insecurities that we all feel at some point but I can't help but feel like throughout my life I have put so much of my heart into caring about my friends and I wonder if I am crazy? I always thought, for some reason that I meant as much to these people as they have meant to me but now I am beginning to wonder. I sometimes wonder if I imagined those close relationships. Maybe I am just different, which I suppose isn't a horrible thing, but I wonder if the way people see me is really far off from how I see me. I am beginning to think its true...Am I that confused about who I am? Am I crazy? Did those relationships end because I really thought they were so much more then they were? It's the only explanation I can think of because had they just ended and we all moved on it would be one thing, but they always ALWAYS move on first...they take a few steps away...and say they're going to keep coming around, and they do for awhile and then they disappear all together. Or maybe to everyone else it just isn't a big deal...maybe its normal for people to come and go and I should just cut those ties and give it up. Everyone else does. Why does that have to be so hard for me? Everyone at work always says "wow beth, you have so many friends!" Do I or do I live in the past like a pro? Perhaps my perspective is skewed, perhaps I am just feeling insecure...but what if all of these things I am so afraid of are true? What if I push people away. I want to be one person so badly...and I try to be but something happens...like someone tells me I am always "the victim" joking or not...I felt the truth in the comment...or being told that I'm not nice...several times in a matter of hours...again, joking or not the truth was there and it scares me...I am afraid of how little I know about myself...and of how closed I have become...this is the most open I have been in awhile...Do I keep it all inside because I really don't think I have anyone I feel I can express these things to and have them take me seriously or is it because something else...ever had one of those moments when you don't know what to trust...I'm there...
I sound crazy...

Happy Forever

"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We liketo be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them.They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble,more joyful, more likable." -Joseph B Wirthlin


Lora is married!! I hope that I can live my life so that someday I am worthy of the blessing of being happy forever with someone I love. Lora deserved it and she is happy! I learned a few different things this weekend, one being that no matter what your family is going to be there for you, even if sometimes it doesn't feel that way. And I learned by one persons example that just because my friends are getting married or starting to date people (which is incredibly odd for my group of friends) that doesn't mean they are all going to ditch their old single pals. I also learned that Dodge Intrepids are crappy cars and I sure am glad I didn't buy one. :-) And I learned that depression can be a blessing. People who have felt depression are able to be more empathetic with others...and truly mean it...not in all situations, but in some...and you just have to make the most of your situation. And I learned I need to be more grateful. Much to improve but I can do it! :-)

For Good

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn, and we are led to those who help us most grow if we let them and we help them in return...because I knew you I have been changed for good." -For Good, Wicked Soundtrack

So tomorrow my Lora Michelle is getting married. Lora was one of the first people I met (besides Amy) when I moved to Utah. They have been my very best friends ever since. I never thought it would be hard for Lora to get married, and really it hasn't been TOO hard it's just more weird then anything. The "us" that is made up by Amy Lora and Beth is becoming an "us" plus John. If anyone had to be added I would want it to be John because he is fabulous and he is bringing Lora back to us here in Utah next year. But it's so weird to see this phase end. I have been thinking so much about how much these girls have blessed my life and I am just overwhelmed. I couldn't be more grateful to have these girls in my life. We have laughed hysterically together, and cried together, we have been spread from California all the way to Florida and stayed friends through it all thanks to 3-way calling and cell phones. We were even in three different time zones when we were awakened by Lora calling to tell us she was engaged. Amy and I live together now and as close as we are whenever Lora comes back to visit it's like she never left, her little niche is still right there and we saved it for her because no one can fill it as hard as they try. Lora has stayed up all hours with me during my worst times. She was the one I called at 2:30 in the morning when I was having my first anxiety attack, even though she was in California and couldn't do anything, but she had enough wisdom to call people to come over and give me a blessing all while she was finding out her car had just been broken in to. She has been an incredible strength to me and I am so happy that she is going to marry this wonderful man and have all of the things she has always dreamed of having. I realize more and more each day that Heavenly Father is aware of us and he puts people into our lives right when we need them and some stay (like my Joanie and Lora and Amy and Rach) and some go but I have been changed for the better because of them. I just know I am so blessed and I just can't wait to spend all day tomorrow with my two best friends one in beautiful white and two in "blush and bashful" and just sharing the joy of what tomorrow is. I am blessed. :-)

A new perspective

"That was a memorable day for me, for it made great changes in me, but it is the same way with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns and flowers, that never would have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." -Charles Dickens Great Expectations

For the first time in two and a half years things are starting to make sense. This person that I have been for the past few years is slowly being taken over by the real Beth. I don't know plan on it all happening at once, or even quickly for that matter, but the beginnings of it are giving me hope like I haven't felt in a very long time. It's so odd to think back and know what happened that slowly brought me to this point, and to feel like everything since then hasn't been real. I cling to the past, I cling to "before I got sick" and I think I almost believe that when I got sick everything changed, BECAUSE I was sick. I didn't die that day in the hospital like they thought I was going to, but it's almost like I did just not physically. Wow, I know, how deep. For the first time in years I feel like my life is really something and I am feeling real feelings, things that were so common and so much a part of my everyday life that I took them for granted, until they were gone. I still have large parts of that bitter/confused/depressed girl that shine through but the friendly/loving/caring/hopeful girl that I think I once was is starting to fight and win. I think I want it more now. I learned a special lesson from someone I have never met, but who has really touched me just because of her good attitude in a time that she has every right to have a bad attitude. She only has 6 months to live, and instead of giving up now she is living her life, she is getting married and she is going to do as much as she can with her life, because she is still alive, and she can. I on the other hand was given a second chance and I have just taken it for granted everyday. I have been overwhelmed, probably by the things I haven't allowed myself to feel for the past few years. I will have a passing thought of someone close to me and it turns into like a "montage" of all the things they have done for me and then I realize how that helped me get to this point, and then I cry. It has happened often lately. Or I remember a situation, that, at the time just seemed convenient but now I realize was a blessing, and not just lucky, it was meant to happen that way. I am thinking of a day that I went to BYU to pick up my roommate with a friend. My friend went inside to do something and coming back she ran into my roommate. Instead of coming right back out to hang out with me in the car like I begged her to she stayed with my roommate waiting in line to buy tickets for a show. At the time I was frustrated because I was alone in a car just waiting. My phone rang and it was a friend who I hadn't been as close with but who meant and still means a lot to me and that friend and I had a conversation that I desperately needed to have. That friend was the first person I told about how depressed I was, before I even realized that I was, and that was while sitting in the BYU Wilk parking lot. Had my friend come back instead of waiting inside I wouldn't have had the same conversation as I did and this long process of recovering probably would have been even longer. I realized YESTERDAY that it wasn't really just luck that my friend didn't come back out. I needed to have that conversation and so it was made possible. This is one of many things that have been taking over my thoughts these days and I just hope I can keep this feeling of gratitude, I wish I could express to the people that have helped me and touched me how much they have, but I feel incapable, and I probably am...

"Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep." -Felix Frankfurter

That about sums it up...