ADPi pictures

Something has happened to my daughter. For years she's been kind of shy and not so much into being sociable. Those of you very close to me may pick up on what I'm about to say. I used to believe that having a ton of friends was not necessary. I had a "best friend" and I thought that was all I needed. I also used to give this friend a hard time about having other friends partly because I was so insecure that if she spent more time with other people I thought she'd like me less and also because I am very shy and it used to be hard for me to make new friends. (NOT possible with Lee as a husband. He's THE most sociable person I've EVER met). So I kind of shut a lot of other people out of my life and didn't give them the time of day and I forced her (the ex-best friend) to do the same. Something happened a couple of years ago that made me change my way of thinking and what a blessing and a curse it has been for me. But mostly, it encouraged me to tell Lauren how very important it is to "not put all of her eggs in one basket" and to branch out and make new friends. Easier said than done. Mostly throughout high school she had one girl that she hung out with and that was it and I was so worried she was following in my footsteps. Until now. It's like watching a little rosebud open up and display all of its hidden petals. I look at these pictures and smile knowing that it's happening for her. These are relationships that will hopefully follow her throughout her lifetime. She's so happy and animated when she's talking about all of her new friends. And I'm thankful that throughout the past two years, God has made some good out of what I thought was something I wouldn't ever make it through. Life is good. Sometimes we scream and cry and wonder what the lesson is that we are supposed to be learning. I get it. I finally get it.