Friends are the reason for the season

As someone whose husband teaches middle school, I’m under no illusion that those years are always easy, but I have to thank that period in my own life for connecting me with two of my favorite people.

In those classrooms I met Ashley and Negine, who became two of my best friends. We connected over a mutual love of Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean, and created our own series of inside jokes.

We all ended up at different high schools and lost touch for a bit. But midway through college we got together again, and it turned out that a lot had stayed the same over the years.

Easygoing conversation? Check.

Laughing at the same quirky things? Check.

Appreciating one another’s company no matter what we were doing? Check.

We had traded helping one another navigate middle school to helping each other navigate adulthood, but our friendship was just as strong.

Now, we keep in touch as we build lives in different cities and support one another through our careers in engineering, nursing and journalism; encourage each other’s creative endeavors; and supply ourselves with a steady supply of memes. Our significant others have also become friends, and together we've shared everything from big life events to ordinary days.

Every winter, we get together to celebrate all of our birthdays and the upcoming holiday (known in our group chat as Birthmas or Birthsgiving, depending on when everyone will be back in our hometown). We find a restaurant and share gifts, laughs and memories over a meal. We've also thrown in things like walking along the beach and playing mini golf. No matter what we end up doing, the day is one I look forward to all year long.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Birthsgiving 2019.

Along with the company, I’m also grateful to have a holiday tradition with the sole purpose of celebrating friendship. It's a good opportunity to appreciate these people that I've known for more than half of my life and create new memories with them.

Our annual holiday/birthday celebration also makes me appreciate the rest of the friendships in my life. Negine and Ashley remind of many positive traits I'm lucky to have in other friends, as well.

So with the spirit of Thanksgiving still lingering, I’ll say that I’m thankful for my friends. Whether we've met through work, school or somewhere in between, they all bring one-of-a-kind qualities to my life that I'm grateful to have.

– Emily Lindstrand