Michelle R

I can't even quite remember how Michelle and I became friends because it was a slow and steady process. We moved to Maryland about the same time and saw each other regularly at church and social events. Over time and through many shared experiences, especially the joys and challenges of motherhood, she is now one of my closest friends.

We have two kids that are born within weeks of each other and our now 8-year-old daughters have been friends since they were one.  She watched my oldest while I was in the hospital having number two kid and we've done many kid swaps. In fact, she's probably spent more time than any other friend watching my children for me. That is one of the things I love most about Michelle and a trait of hers I have tried to emulate. She is so willing to help out and offers with a generous and open heart. My children love being in her home and used to cry when I would go to pick them up and I always feel at ease with my kids are with her. 

Michelle is creative and a good party-thrower and super fun to be around. She loves movies and is the queen of popcorn. I've watched in awe as she orders the large refillable popcorn and gets some bags or other containers to dump it all into while passing it out to whomever she is with, then she goes back to get the refill. We're late night buddies and have had fun at midnight movies or many a girls night where we stay up talking until 2 or 3 am.  She is fun to play games with and is quick to laugh and be silly. 

We're also beach buddies. One of my favorite memories is when she and a group of wonderful friends surprised me for my birthday and took me to the beach for the weekend. Michelle and I spent hours out swimming in the ocean, fighting strong waves and laughing and talking. It was so fun to play together since usually we are busy being moms together and I'll never forget it. 

Shelly, Joni, Michelle, Sarah and I at the temple

We also had fun at girls camp last year. Every year the teenage girls from church camp for a week in the summer and Michelle and I both went to help out. We went out one night to prank the girls armed with duct tape and saran wrap. We got to one cabin and some of the girls were up and on their way out to do some pranking of their own so we jumped out and scared them, which was hysterical.  A year later we were spending the night in a hotel for a girls weekend and somehow at 3 am my toothbrush went missing, a friend's bra made it into the refrigerator and so to get her back we threw cold water on her in the shower. I love that I can feel like I'm 15 again when I'm with her (in a good way) but then talk about the serious challenges of being a mother and wife or discuss sacred church doctrine. She's open and real while still being kind and measured in her responses. 

While I have many wonderful friends around the country, I'm very grateful for those who are in the trenches with me day in and day out. Michelle knows so much of the daily minutia of my life and shares a lot of it with me. I know I can call her for anything and that she will always be there for me. I can count on her to forgive me for my many mistakes and be sensitive and understanding of my feelings. She is loving and supportive and always up for fun. We've laughed a lot together over the past seven years, complained some, cried a bit, talked a lot and developed a friendship for which I am incredibly grateful.