Part 3: Texas, Detroit, Friend Visits, Summertime, and Beyond (Summer Review in Parts)

Chillaxing at the Beach in Holland, MI

Now that today is the last day of July (the best month of the year!) it is timely that I wrap up my posts about summer, or at least the things I did in July. Now, I realize that Michigan is a long way from almost anything. Many people don't realize that Michigan is in the Eastern Time zone. When you look at it on a map, I'm sure you first think, "wow, it really IS pretty far east". And for this reason it means so much to me when someone dear to my heart comes for a visit. My bestie from the westie came to visit me again in July. We decided it would become some kind of summer fun-trip for ladies to vacation. Whether or not she always comes here, we know it is increasingly important for she and I to have long visits with one another every year.

I love my friend Brenda. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and she has seen me through some of the most difficult parts of my life. And our frank, loving, supportive, and honest relationship is what has endured and grown our friendship. So when she comes to visit it means we get to laugh at how silly I am, because she is the same way, I get to indulge in all of my goofiness because she loves that about me, and I get to have long long long conversations that span from "maybe we should be wearing make-up" to "educational philosophies" to "design research" to "why we love the movie Bridesmaids." I am so thankful for girlfriends who come visit the Mitten state, the middle of nowhere state it feels like, from the far away west coast.