I hear, read and even say a lot of excuses when it comes to making friends as a mom. But what if the excuses weren’t even needed? What if we were just blind to the friends that are right in front of us maybe even found in a bowl of taco dip?

This article is written in the hopes of shaking some friend sense into some other ladies reading this. That friends, really good friends like the ones you feel comfortable in all your mess, saggy after birth skin and bad days as a terrible wife and mother who will still cheer you on  can actually be found right in front of you. I’m also hoping to strengthen the friendships in my life that are “standing” right in front of me. Friendships that are old and new, friendships near and far, friendships that need some nurturing in order to really grow. Like marriage friendship takes work and effort, so I’m pushing up my sleeves and diving in. Texting, calling and making plans for friendship dates throughout the year. I was lucky enough to have one of those dates this past weekend during the Enjoy Friendship Challenge of the #ETHANproject. I hope in sharing the background of this unexpected friendship and the nature of the date, it will inspire other ladies to take the blinders off that the busy of life can put on us and start planning their own friendship dates.

(Read on about the friendship I discovered in the cheese and beans of a taco dip.)

I met my husband in college.

He had two roommates that I met too. One roommate had a girlfriend. This girlfriend made a taco dip that my then boyfriend lost his mind over. I met the girlfriend once or twice as they were a long distance couple. The girlfriend was kind enough to share her secret taco dip recipe with me. I made secret taco dip for years and pot lucks to come.

Fast forward a couple of years after the college years and we find ourselves at the wedding of the roommate and taco dip girlfriend.

Fast forward another couple of years and roommate with taco dip girlfriend are smiling from the pews at our own wedding, later blessing us with their genuine hugs that are as comforting and fulfilling as her taco dip.

Fast forward another couple of years and our first-born meets roommate and taco dip girlfriend on a trip to Chicago to see old college friends.

Fast forward another couple of years and a move to and back from Texas; now our one has turned to three and now a taco dip baby named Sophie has joined the world. All four kiddos hung out as if they knew one another forever.

As a year comes and goes so does life and it’s busyness. Each time our two families tried to make plans something would come up or someone was getting sick. FINALLY, the stars aligned and we met up to wreak havoc on our local zoo. As luck would have it, our twice rescheduled zoo date landed right during the ENJOY Friendship Challenge of the #ETHANproject (proving all reschedulings happen for a reason). The challenge offered the perfect opportunity to bring this genuine and awesome friend and friendship into the bright light it needs to be placed. We spent the morning roaming the zoo and making plans to get together not only this summer but also this fall. So long story short, I found an unexpected friend in an unexpected way. That friend really gets me and makes me feel human again with her acceptance of who I am and my inner thoughts. Who would have thought?!? Taco Dip! I’m excited to see how our friendship will grow and thankful for the ENJOY friendship challenge that gave me a booty bump in the right direction of realizing what friendships are “standing” right in front of me!

Now, it’s your turn to take a look around. Look at the women and friendships in your life that need tending to. push up your sleeves and dive right in. I dare you.

 

(Also, please note that this amazing friend also knows the way to my heart! I’m not afraid to say out loud that my love language is GIFTS! So I must share with you my own personal tiara and trendy hair-ties that my taco dip friend be-gifted me. Now I can do my yoga in style among the other way cooler twentysomes in hot yoga.)

P.S. Don’t forget to chime in on the #ETHANproject too! Please feel free to share your own stories and posts with the bloggers and readers of the project, the more the merrier 🙂