Hehe! I know you know. Happy to remind you anytime.

(ALSO irrationally giddy about having a shared nickname. In my family, everyone’s a cow. Occasionally, a wildebeest, a mongoose, a barracuda, or a turkey. Haha!)

Okay ^_^ Thanks Deserae – you sound spot on to me.♥ It’s funny because I fee like I know these things, but I need to have someone remind me every now and again. Don’t know why, but it helps.

P.s. My sister calls me ‘cow’ a lot too. Funny that. She gets ‘donkey’, though… 😉

Ooo. Again, not Lisi. But Laila, you are wise and kind and strong. You’re right. Sometimes we have to make mistakes. But if you ever feel in your heart that you should say something, share your story/experience, reach out in anyway to help cushion the fall, soften the blow, or ready the path– if ever you’re in a place to help someone and you feel in your gut that you should, don’t ever ignore that feeling. You never know how you can bless someone, you know? And even if you misread or your help isn’t wanted, at least you tried. And that person knows you tried. Because they’ll know who they can go to when they’re ready to vent or talk or get some help. Your role as a friend is always the same and it’s very simple:

Just be there.

Be there to listen. Be there to lean on. Be there to help.

Just be there.

Okay?
Okay. :]

Trust your gut!

Hey, Dylan,

I am no Lisi Harrison (and my sister often calls me “Cow” instead of “Desi”), but you know, I like to remind her and anyone else dealing with friendship problems of this: a friendship is also a relationship. That means it should go both ways.

The thing is, friendships, like all relationships, change. It might just be that you two aren’t as close anymore. That doesn’t mean you aren’t still friends! But if you feel like what you want in this relationship isn’t being realized and (this part is super important!) you really feel like it’ll be worth it to say something (aka what you had in your friendship before is worth reclaiming), then you definitely should say something. For sure. Like whatcha waiting for???

But if you can be okay with where you two are at… If you can understand her where she’s at right now and can do your own thing while she goes on to do hers… Things have changed for you too. And that’s okay! And if you end up talking to her this second time and you don’t get the kind of response you need (since we probs never will get the kind of response we want, need is the better indicator in a case like this)… Things have just changed in general. And trust me. That’s okay, too. I think you’re a brave and a really mature person to want to put all of these feels on the table. Just don’t go into it AFRAID of the idea of things changing or having changed. Change can be a great thing. It opens you up to new experiences. And here’s another (not-so-secret) secret: it doesn’t necessarily have to mean “the end.”

Wishing you lots of luck and love,
Deserae

Great advice. I’m printing it to give to my granddaughter .

So glad the rat is gone…maggots are BRUTAL!

montdormama