Did you know that April was the second month of the earliest Roman Calendar in 700 BC? That’s right the second month of the year, and it was only put as the fourth month of the year in 450 BC…to me this has meaning. Since I can remember, the number 2 has always been very significant for me, I wore it as my softball number every year, and I’m one of those spiritual types that thinks things are connected some way some how, it just so happens to ALSO be my favorite number.

April is important to me, aside from the fact it was originally in the place of my now birth month, February (now, coincidentally the 2nd month of the year). April is important in the sense that almost every woman that is dear, true, and a phone call away was born in this month. Each of these women hold such a connected place in my heart that every year, I gear up for this month. I want to show them my love and support although sometimes life gets so busy. We find that we have to prioritize things as simple as shaving our legs, to when we can plan a date night with our other halves, to making plans to try and see family and friends. Everyone takes that back seat to your routine life, and that’s just part of a normal process.These women are very important to me and I wanted to share them with all of you.

This woman I met a little over 32 years ago, when she paved my way in this world, my Momma. She cares for anything with legs, and strives everyday to make the world a better place by donating her love. This was a special birthday for her, because she finally, as she would say, became a Grandmother. She wears it very well as you will see below. Her face is so lit up with happiness that it expels out of the photo. This year on April 9th we celebrated my mother from home as she was up with my sister supporting her. We made sure for Mother’s Day to make it extra special since we didn’t get to see her for her birthday and me and my sister Caitlin took her kayaking down the Weeki Wachee River, it was absolutely the best relaxing time we’ve had in awhile. Family times get less and less when we are out working on our own little families, but I always try to find that time for mom and daughters, because it is a bond that is so unbreakable.

Since I can remember the day after my mother’s birthday, April 10th, has always belonged to my very best friend in this world, Pamela Michelle McCarthy. We met when we were 5, and instantly had a friendship that would take over the majority of our thought paths over the next decade. On this day she would have been 32, but we lost her to unforeseen health complications in 2006. I chose this photo as I normally do, because for Pam and I this was a very surreal weekend, also this was the day she gave me the shirt I am wearing in that photo. Pam always knew what was going on with me, and I didn’t have to speak a word, she would just know exactly what to say, and or what to do, to get me out of my head. She always had my back and we shared our dreams with one another that were bigger than our girly selves at that age. She wanted to be a veterinarian and would have been a damn good one, had she gotten the chance. She is a light in my life even to this day, because in her passing it reminds me to think, what would Pam do, and then I feel realigned and ready to conquer my next chapter, as she always did.

April 17th came in like a whirlwind, just as Tinslie did when she came into my life many years ago. She was this younger, mouthier version of myself, and we instantly clicked. Ever since those days, she has always been there for me, as I for her. We’ve been utilizing the buddy system since I can remember, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She is now the mother to two of the sweetest babes in my life, Randall and Sadie. She is adventurous and loves the country. She finds joy in everything she does and you can see that in her kids when they play outside, or when they dance in the living room to the same movie  that’s been on repeat for weeks. They don’t hear the song like they have heard it a thousand times, they hear it in a new light and to them it marks a new adventure, Tinslie is the same way. She puts her mind to it, and the accomplishment just comes naturally. She will always be a nurturing person with patience that is elegant in its own sense, I just know that’s something I will learn from her. 

2 years ago I walked behind her after she read her vows and married the man she loves, 14 years ago she walked behind me on our high school football field, dressed in our cap and gowns, 20 years ago we met as little’s in middle school, and 33 years ago I was graced with a sweet, and compassionate individual that would be one of the best friends life has to offer, Elizabeth. I call her Lizzy, and she calls me Pammy, after all those years these nicknames are owned. We have such an open friendship, that we have ventured in almost everything together. Love, Travel, Business, and even with that full circle, life still manages to hand us back to one another. We support each other in our hopes and push and help to hold each other accountable for our dreams. She is always the person to never offend, and will always ask you how your day was regardless if hers was a nightmare. She truly cares for the people around her, and sometimes I have to remind her that she is just as important as the rest of us. She is one of the few gems I have come across in this life that I will never willingly let go of. 

High School were the daze, and this chic always seemed to make some sort of appearance, little did I know that 15 years after, we would be like sisters. Candi is a spitfire, mouthy, flower on the wall, with the stars in her sight. She has taught me the most out of all of the women in my life. She showed me that life can be so much more than what its made out to be, she reminded me that when the going gets tough, there is always someone who has it tougher. She showed me genuine care for life, and what to want out of it. When I didn’t think I had anyone in my corner I looked over and there she was, just like me, a daisy on the wall. Today she is my Daisy, the one that always knows how I feel, and will take the time to put her feet in my shoes;  we do wear the same size. She has given me the greatest gift thus far, and I am eternally grateful to know him, let alone be apart of his growing life. 

Life is full of gems, treasures, and that, one in a million rarity, and for me these women are just that, a rarity. With the exception of my mother, Friendships are like Relationships, they take time, patience, gratitude, and respect. My mother has given me these since the day she birthed me, she never made me feel that I couldn’t be something great, or that I wasn’t deserving. These women inspire me to be a better me everyday through their own lives. We can pick up on the first Monday of a month, even though we left off on the 2nd Friday of the last. Time tells no difference, and when you have friends that feel like family that speaks volumes to their support. When I want no one to worry about me, they are all worried crazy women, who continue to take the back burner to find out if I’m okay, and allow me to respond in my own time.  They never judge, because they know how rough this world is, when everyone is being put on a pedestal to the next person, we can look at one another and feel that over-pouring sense of comfort. Friendships are not one-sided and we visibly benefit from one another. I think of them as I would myself, I put them in my book of morals, and I consider them as valuable an asset as I would consider myself to someone. I hold myself to a high standard as a friend, because I learned at a young age, friends will come and they will go, but remember why them came and pay attention to why they left. My goal in life is to be healthy happy and to spread that to all those around me, with the help of self will. I know what I want out of my life, and its not all mapped out for me to follow as instructions, and I can confidently say that all these women sit in the same boat with me. We all struggle, but we all know that someone has our back, and for them, that someone is me!

Happy Birthday Ladies, I will always be here for all of you, and I am so blessed to have all of you supporting me. The fact that you exist in my world, is gift enough for me. 

April 9th, My Momma-3 days after her BDAY- she became a Grandma

March for Babies April 2018

April 10th- Pamela -My Favorite Memory

April 17th- Tinslie-Dinner Date Night

April 26- Adventures with Lizzy

April 27th- Daisy’s Night Out