Now, this is most definitely a tribute to some of my best friends in real life. I was gathering together a few of the best pictures of them and I together... and well, I thought what would be better than to put them altogether in one collage? :)

They are truly amazing people. Actually, now that I think about it, this is geared towards my girlfriends... so, they are truly amazing girls. :) At one point in my life or another, they've been women who have stood strong for me - and I appreciate that beyond what I could ever say in words. Yet, I'm gonna try to manage it... :)

The very top left picture is of Malena and I... Now, most definitely this woman was my best friend for a couple of my first years in high school. She's got an amazing sense of humor - she always has a knack for making me laugh. I seem to always have a smile on my face when I'm with her. But she also knows when to take me seriously, and has been there when things were too much and I needed a shoulder to cry on... I remember when I came back from England after my father's heart attack - the first Sunday back at church, I saw Malena across the courtyard. She saw me and hurried over, and just held me in her arms for awhile. I remember wishing that she had been there in England for me - my roommate on the trip just wasn't really cutting it and thought she was my best friend, and it made me slightly uncomfortable. I told Malena as much as she held me. She slowly pulled back and gave me a loving smile and said, "That's because it should have been me." I smiled back at her and almost started crying... it was such a relief that she knew that. But I'll always be grateful for her being in my life - whether we hang a lot or not. :)

The bottom left picture is of Becky and I... I'm sure she's gonna hate the fact that I'm saying anything partially mushy about her. But HA! It's gonna happen anyways! ;) Well actually, first off... I gotta say that she's the one who got me obsessed with Xena. hehe When I came back from my first couple of viewings, I told her I liked it - because at that time, she was a bigger fan than me... next I know, she's giving me all her Xena tapes to catch up on everything I've missed. And when this happened... THIS is when I became a Xena fanatic! Blame Becky! j/k :) However, now I'm more a fan than she is, but I still do talk to her about Xena and Buffy - although her love is La Femme Nikita. :) ... Now, for the serious part? Well... one of the things that's so adorable about Becky is the fact that she tries her best not to show any sort of affection for you, even if she loves ya to death. But I always caught her face brightening up when a friend would spontaneously hug her. :) Becky doesn't remember this ('cause I told her thank you the other day for it)... but one of the things that made me realize that Becky was a true friend was something she did for me after my dad had his 2nd heart attack near January of last year. I took a week off of school during that time, and Becky was one of the few who called me. But so, she knew it was taking a toll on me. When I returned to school, I could tell that she had made a point of informing all my close buds (in my group) of exactly what had happened and not to ask me any questions... And it was such a relief and a help. I'm not sure if I could have made it through that first day if it wasn't for the fact that when "others" asked me about what happened, my close buds already knew and would stand there with me, supporting me... hugging me. I knew part of that was due to Becky. And I really do thank her with all my heart for that... it held special significance to me.

The top middle picture is of Naomi and I... Now, this isn't the Naomi I speak of in the poetry section, but this Naomi was one of my best buds for quite a few years. Naomi went to my church since I was 11, I believe, and had to leave to move to Washington a couple of years ago. One of the best things about us is that we share the same birthday, February 18th... just she's a year younger than me. :) We've done something for our birthday together for 5 years - she even came down the first year she was gone around her birthday to celebrate with me. However, last year was the first time I didn't have Naomi to spend my birthday with, and I could truly feel a difference - there was something missing... it took me to the end of the day to realize what was keeping me back. I realized I really did miss her. :) Some of my favorite times with her were doing Devotion in Motions together - which is basically dancing with some sign language incorporated, as well as just making motions that would match the words in the songs... we performed a couple together in church, as well as a few with our DIM class... We have the same love for kids and babies. For the first few years of our church life together, you'd find us in the nursery taking care of all the kids during the service... when not in church? You'd find us babysitting our babes, Sophie and Brittany. Either way, a time with Naomi was always a time of the good and fun. We actually lost our way for a bit near the end, but the last year before she left, we took hold of the reins again and got our best friendship back together. :) The only thing I'm regretting is that I'm not able to see her growing up into a beautiful, young lady. Because I could see that beginning before she left, and we haven't been in great touch since unfortunately. I'm gonna try to remedy that.

The bottom middle picture is of Rhianon and I... My girl from England. The voice of reason. Let's just say right off I could NOT have made it through those horrible two weeks of my dad being in the hospital if it were not for this woman. She was truly my rock. She understood where I was coming from, knew what advice to give... knew when I needed to cry... knew when I needed to laugh... knew how to let me be me. We had a bond instantly. Truly did. *laugh* I remember when we first met was just as we were going to leave to go to her fam's house (just after the ambulance had taken my dad, Keith, and Blair to the hospital). The poor girl. Usually, I'm very cheerful when meeting people - very friendly. "Rhianon, this is Keri" - "*sob* Hi." :) But we're walking out to the car together, and she had me laughing while crying at the same time - I don't know how she accomplished this. :) We're driving to the house together, and she still had me laughing and crying at the same time. Heh heh... One of the things that I appreciated most about her was that first night. After dinner, when my mom and Julia were going to go to the hospital and wanted to know if I wanted to come with them... I was sitting there, feeling so torn. I was exhausted physically [touring really does have a big effect on you - especially the hard, extensive, short tour we were doing]. Physically, if I had my choice, I would have been in bed 5 hours before, and Rhianon knew this from our chat earlier. But I didn't want my mom to be alone in this... They had left the room and only Rhianon and Nathan were left at the table with me. Rhianon suddenly spoke up and said to me, "Keri... you're not going." I looked up at her in surprise, and she continued. "Keri, you're already physically drained - I can see it, and you know it. If you go to the hospital at 2:00 a.m with the possibility of having to leave on the Songster bus tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., then you're not going to be helping yourself. Not only will you be physically drained, but you'll be emotionally drained as well. If you go to the hospital, truthfully, you won't be doing your dad much good by running yourself ragged, when your mom is going to need you to be strong. Trust me... it's okay to stay here with us. I'll put you to bed and take care of you and everything." I just had to stare at her for a moment in awe. But I knew she was right - everything she said rang true. Since that moment on, she was such a rock for me... and I really did dub her "my voice of reason" by the end of my time there, because she truly was. Gosh, I miss her. :) However, next summer... I'm going to England for her wedding, so I can't wait. :)

The top right picture is of Lydia and I... As most of you know, Lydia was my first true best friend back in 6th-9th grade or so. *laugh* I remember how we first got started. When we were switching seats in our 6th grade class, she walked up to me and went "Umm, Keri? Can I, uh, sit with you?" and I went "Hold on" and hurried off to see if my bud was taken. I was cruel - I admit. :) The funny thing is that Lydia didn't even realize I was cruel back then - she does now, but back then! :) Nah, truthfully, I'm not quite pleased with how I was back before I met Lydia. I guess before 6th grade, I was just kinda like "whatever" and did my own thing. But in 6th, I wanted to be in the "cool" crowd, and well I was actually. The only girl outta my group that turned out semi-normal, unselfish, and not caring about the "cool" stuff is my bud, Shannon (who most of you must have heard about on Buff's MB or something). However, as I became friends with Lydia? Things changed. We changed. I truly believe that Lydia and I helped each other discover who we truly were - possibly even helped make each other who we are. We played that big of a role in each other's lives early on. I think we'd both say with 100% certainty that if we hadn't met, who we are today would be drastically different... and I think it's true... Junior high went by, and the only two people who I truly adored were Lydia and Shannon - didn't really care much for anything else. High school went by, and our friendship kinda died away because of not seeing or talking to each other due to different schools and lots of homework. But over the past month, we've been talking and hanging out again. What's cool is to see how earlier on, our minds were on the same wavelength in a joking manner... now as we've grown up, our minds are on the same wavelength in a deep/thoughtful manner. We're getting to know each other again for who we are today... Overall though, I'll always be proud to say that she was my first true friend. :)

The bottom right picture is of Benny and I... Oh gosh, where do I begin? I truthfully don't know where to begin. I could yammer on and on about this wonderful girl, however I'll try my best not to do that now. :) Man, where do I begin? Well, Benny was actually my first friend in high school. I remember seeing how she just oozed of sweetness and I grabbed hold of it literally by 2nd period of the first day (I had observed her during 1st period). :) Heh heh... I remember there was a period during our junior year where each morning, we'd see each other for the first time, run up, and hug each other like we hadn't seen each other all summer. :) It was cute. :) If there was one friend in high school who was always very consistent in their friendship, it was Benny. I could always count on her. For a good laugh. For a good talk. For a good hug. For a "mutual admiration society" - in other words, we'd always compliment each other back and forth... there was no stopping us. :) I truly believe I will never be able to forget Benny. She is the type of girl who I will never let go either... as long as I can help it, because she's such an amazing girl. There is no one who could possibly compare to her in all honesty. She's one of a kind. I love her with all my heart... There are only a few girls in my life where I can say "Wow. Look at her. Give her till she's 25, and wow, she is going to be one beautiful, amazing woman. I can't wait to see just how beautiful she'll be." Benny is one of those few rare girls.

I love ya'll.

Love and honesty,

Keri

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