Friends who love

Last semester and already this semester I've had some pretty lovely experiences with friends who just do things for me when I ask them to and even friends who just do things for me because they decide to.

The first Monday back at school was fine until nightfall. I went to bed super early but couldn't fall asleep for a long time. I was just feeling too sick. So as I'm sitting there on my bed, wondering what to do, my dear friend Peter texted me, apologizing for not responding to a message I sent him that afternoon. Before I knew it, I was talking on the phone with him and explaining everything that was wrong. And because he's so wonderful, he decided to go buy me NyQuil. It wasn't particularly late at night, maybe only 10, but for someone who was sick it sure felt like it was super late. After bringing me the medicine he stayed for a little while, just talking with me and making sure I was okay. When he left he said if I wanted he'd come over the next morning to see if I was feeling any better. And that's exactly what he did.

The Saturday after that was just not a very good day. I wasn't really sick anymore but the day was just . . . off. I was sitting on the couch with Stacy moping and feeling so hungry. I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet and any food left over from before the break was gone. Becca came to the rescue that day. She herself needed food and she took it upon herself to buy things we could share and other things just for me, like Curious George fruit snacks and sweet potato fries. (She knows me far too well.)

No story of service would be complete without Jeff, though. The number of times over the past 2 1/2 years he's come through for me in a tight spot? So many. Jeff is my go-to guy in a sticky situation. He does everything he can to talk with me as soon as he can. He comes over whenever I ask him to. He lets me bum around his basement apartment in those rare moments when I get locked out of my apartment. (It just happened last week actually.) Jeff and I don't get to see each other nearly as often as we probably should but we're really good at stepping into each other's lives when we need to.

In general the boys of the Lava Lounge treat all of us pretty well. In recent weeks they've been especially great, though. They help convince me to go on trips to St. George and then make sure it's a fabulous time. They skip parts of church to talk with me in the hallway instead. They leave awesome parties to spend a little time with me and then go back to the parties to get me snacks. And every single thing they do ends with at least one great hug.

Margaret, however, wins the prize for greatest surprise. Just last week she dropped by the desk at work, leaving me a new CD and homemade chocolate chip cookies. That morning she sent me a message asking if I was working that day; I thought nothing of it since Margaret often drops by the desk. I was off doing something else when she actually came by but that almost made it even sweeter. It absolutely made my week.

These little moments of kindness happen all the time when I really think about it. Last week Stacy made banana bread for the apartment. Lorraine made pudding to share and then we watched The Office. Badger invites us all over for dinner a few times a month. I am blessed with an incredible family here at school. So if anyone I've mentioned happens to be reading this post: thank you for everything you do for me. And even if you weren't mentioned specifically: thank you as well.

Last YouTube video I watched: Photoshop Song