The Year of Great Friendships

I sat in front of this empty screen this morning and pondered what to write about this Morning of the Last Day of 2010.

I let my fingers do the walking and I eventually ended up watching a 'Friendship Video' montage from 2008. The memories were two years old, but they were as fresh as the moment we captured them on video when I watched it this morning. I started reflecting on my friendships and thus, this blog post was born.

2010 has been a banner year. I don't know where to begin ...

First and foremost, was the Great Dance Adventure. The entire experience was unforgettable. But what stands out more than anything after all is said and done?? The connections that I made with the group that travelled the same path. I visited at length with so many people that I normally don't have the chance to know, in our fleeting contact at the dance studio. I got to know another side to our Dance Instructors. I stepped into the entire Dance Adventure a novice and stranger to all of this. I walked away with fantastic memories and a sense of 'knowing' the people that I joined on the adventure.

The world of dance offered many new and fun activities throughout 2010 ... from attending and hosting the potluck supper for our Dance Camp to Dancing With the Stars to simply Dancing! Walking through the doors to the dance studio has changed my life. Each year gets better than the one prior. Each and every time I walk through that door, I forget everything else in my life and 'regain my sense of happy'. The music, the dance, my instructor and the entire ambience within. I have made many friends within those four walls ...

It was a year where Dreams Made Wishes Come True . I dared to dream. I lived a lot of those dreams. 2011 is full of opportunities to continue to make those dreams come true. On March 10, 2010 ... I wrote that I would go on an Alaskan Cruise within two years. I am a year ahead of schedule. I will be going in May, 2011 instead. And that is just the beginning ...

Then there are all of my Field of Dreams experiences. They happen all of the time ... I have extended my hand on numerous occasions. The lesson learned seems to be "If I ask ... it will happen".

All of the above were magical and precious. But what lies deep beneath the surface in each and every memory I have this year? Friends.

I have extended my hand in friendship and made new friends. I have continued to strengthen the bond with old friends. I reconnected with friends of the past. I have a friend in each and every family member. My adult children are starting to connect with me on a 'friendship level'.

My family are my friends. I believe that my family taught me all that I needed to know about being a friend. Where my family left off, my friends took over. It is cyclical. The more you give (in friendship), the more you receive. It has snowballed over the years.

The year of 2010 has been a culmination of all the seeds sown in the years prior. The year has been a gift. It has been The Year of Great Friendships.

Friendships that will last "To infinity and beyond ..."