friends are an integral part of your life, but every friend you have must live life at their own pace. when the time comes and they must leave you, there is no need to grieve over their parting from your life. it is the very essence of life that it should be so. but it hurts nonetheless, but we hold them in our hearts forever. always cherish the joy, laughter, memories and love that they have brought into your lives. always remember them with a warm smile for what they have given you.- a beautiful mind quote

being a military family, this is something that happens often...location to location, we make friends, knowing that we will soon part ways. some friends you never speak to again. others, you know they will forever be your friend. some of these friendships are maintained on the phone, hoping that one day you'll see them again. others, if you're lucky, you are able to see maybe once a year. my friend, gwenn, is one of those friends.

gwenn and i were stationed at davis-monthan AFB together, as nurses. she left tucson in 1999 and we've been long distance friends ever since. it's hard to believe it's been 10 years now. we went years without seeing one another but have been lucky enough to live five hours apart for the past couple years. so right now we've been able to see each other once or twice a year. and when we do, it's like were were never apart.

this was gwenn and i, in 1998. she's in the blue uniform. i'm in the white uniform.

gwenn came to visit me this weekend, with her four-year-old. we had such a blast together. reminiscing, sharing, laughing.

i am so blessed to have these special friends in my life.