As a child, my grandma and I would watch her favorite shows when I would visit.  My grandma lived close to us and I saw her almost daily.  Her shows included: Highway to Heaven, Father Dowling, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls and her soap operas.  She had quite the variety of shows she enjoyed watching.  When we would watch The Golden Girls together she would laugh so much at Rose’s antics.  I record The Golden Girls and when I am having a down day or just need to laugh, that show brings me back remembering my grandmother enjoying the tv series.

I am so grateful for my friendships.  My childhood friends, college friends, work friends and community friends are wonderful.  I do not want to list names or I will leave someone out unintentionally.  The gift of friendship is truly precious.   My friends in the above picture come to visit every few months.  We enjoy going vintage shopping, going out to lunch and consignment shopping.  One of the stores we frequent has a promotion that if you find the rubber chicken you get 10% off your purchase.  The first time we went shopping I said, “I wonder if the chicken is in the chicken coop for sale?” half-jokingly.  I went over and there was the chicken.  The next time we went we found the chicken again and we all received 10% percent off.  Since we have this stride going of finding the chicken, when my friends come down to visit they bring our mascot (Chicken Little) to our shopping adventures for good luck.  My friends came down a few weeks ago and we went shopping again and I said, “Let’s see if we can find the chicken” and we did.  These awesome friends of mine bring much laughter and good times.  The above picture is of one of our shopping adventures with our mascot and the chicken we always find.

Two of these same friends came to visit me about two weeks after losing Hope.  They messsaged me and asked if they could visit.  I wasn’t doing much at the time other than resting on the couch or in bed trying to heal physically and emotionally.  They shared they wouldn’t stay long, but wanted to see me on their day off.  I am grateful for these sweet friends who came down and were just a presence during this sad time.  They brought me the sweetest stone for my garden to remember Hope.

The Golden Girls theme song rings true for all of my friends.  I am so appreciate of the friendships that have continued since childhood, current friendships and friendships across the miles.  As I was going through some of my childhood things, I  had a note from my childhood friend Mindy.  Apparently, I still owe a $1.00 in the neighborhood kids club we created in our neighborhood years ago!  Mindy, I owe you a dollar friend when we meet up this summer.

When my dad passed away, my cousin Joan said, “Your dad was a quiet man, but had a spirit of appreciation.”  I hope the spirit of appreciation rings true in my life.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with gratitude over the friendships and connections that are part of my journey.  It is an amazing thing to have the support of others to share the good times and the challenging times.

My sweet friends in the above picture I refer to as The Golden Chicks as we still have a few years to reach The Golden Girls era.  It also is the perfect analogy since we have our chicken mascot for our shopping adventures.  The theme song to The Golden Girls is one of my favorites.

The lyrics to “Thank You For Being A Friend” (Written By Andrew Gold)

If you are ever wanting an adventure in Washington, visit my friend Kim’s store Plush.  You never know where you will find the chicken.

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