It's All In The "Hood".

Childhood, Girlhood, Sisterhood, Adulthood... all these stages of life have something in common. Friendship. Over the years I have been truly blessed with friends and as I turned 40 last Sunday I realized, just like my family, they helped to mold me into the woman I am today. So this blog entry is dedicated to the friends that hold a dear place in my life.

In my childhood some of my closest friends were my cousins Shelby, Karrie, Cassie, and Sheila. We did everything together from school to church, from Missionettes, Mighty Might cheerleaders, the local beauty pageant, and the Baton twirling team. We were together a lot. They taught me that even though we're family we were friends too.

As I grew older, came my girlhood friends from all over: Michelle W., Renzi, Dina D., Dina B., Debbie, Kelley, and Cheryl. Each one of these wonderful friends came from different walks of life financially, geographically, spiritually, and culturally. Being their friend helped me to become a better person by recognizing differences and overcoming fears of being different.

Next comes my friends from my college years: Shannon, Michelle G., Liz, Nicole, Becky, and Jeff. We traveled and lived together or in Jeff's case we dated and then became great friends. In some cases these wonderful people prepared me for marriage. I learned to live with others and become a compromiser instead of a controller.

Then came some of the most wonderful women I know. These women were placed in my life by God. I know this because of the circumstances in how I met them. Deanna, Dawn, Sue, and Kim (my sister in law). they have been through the ups and downs of my dating life before I met my wonderful husband. They have emotionally and spiritually encouraged me as well as respected me through the past 14 years of my life. God placed them in my life when I needed them the most. They have taught me sisterhood.

I am a blessed woman to have been touched by the lives of the women who helped shape me in to who I am today.