True Friends

Through the years I've had many friends.  I thought they were true friends, turns out most of them have been fair weather friends.  Some using you up & casting you aside, some have stuck a knife in my back, but there are those few rare gems that come into your life that continue to sparkle through all the muck that life hands out.  I have a few of those.  Those who accept me for who I truly am, those who allow me to share every dirty detail of my life without judgment.  Who aren't afraid to say what they think and give me permission and validation for my own feelings.  Those rare gems are true treasures.  In the last couple of years, I've had my share of trials and along the way, I have made a great group of friends who I love dearly.  In that group, there is one gem that shines brighter than all the others.  She is always there for me with loving words and the gift of laughter.  When I struggle with things, she lays it out there for me and helps me to see things from another perspective.  Then she makes me laugh.  She's seen me through some of my lowest points as well as some of my highest.  My life would be so very different without her and I am so thankful to have one gem that shines above all of the rest.