Friendsgiving Gratitudes

This week I had the fortune to participate in several friendsgivings, which are always chaotic to organize but lovely when they’re happening. New friends and old, a multitude of dishes, wines, and laughter make for a lovely evening.

In honor of Friendsgiving and the gratitude that Thanksgiving brings I wanted to do an appreciation post for friends—near and far, featured in photos and those that are not, ones I’ve known for years or only a few weeks, thank you all so much for being in my life. Your love, support, kindness, humor, etc. all keep me going. I could not imagine a life without being able to talk, rant, laugh, hug, dance, hike, run, and jump into lakes with all of you.

Thank you for the far away friends who fly thousands of miles to come visit me. For the friends who may suck at texting or have extremely busy schedules but somehow we make it work. For the friends who are physically so far a way but so close to me. For the friends who have cute pets and love dinner and study dates. For the crazy friends who jump into lakes (even if they’re wearing overalls) on the first day of every month witch me. For the bi-weekly coffee date, adventure planning, hilarious friends who I look forward to seeing every time. For the plant biology friends (whether PhD, masters, professors, fellow majors, minors, or just plant geeks) I’m glad we can always bond over nature. For my soul-sisters, my support crew I couldn’t imagine life without. For my book-loving, nerdy pals who are always down to rant about our latest reads or the best new show. For my crazy hiking friends who will go out no matter the weather or the time (day or night or somewhere in between). For my running crew (which has grown so much!!) whether from the club team, the first ever half-marathoners or 10K runners, the casual 2 milers, the marathon runners, and everyone in between. For my animal lovers, the caretakers, the friend’s family dogs, my housemates and their cats, and everyone else not featured in these photos I love you all so much. Thank you for being part of my life.