Don't Forget To Thank The Friends Who Became Family This Year ❤️
'I couldn't have made it through 2022 without you.'
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Today we’re bringing you a lovely message from poet and author Molly Burford about the friends we made in 2022—and the gratitude we feel to be loved by them.
To the friends who became family in 2022:
Thank you.
Thank you for being there for me when I couldn't even show up for myself. Thank you for encouraging me to stand back up when I got knocked down. Thank you for being a shoulder to lean on, a listening ear, and the hand that helped pull me back up on my own two feet.
Thank you for being patient with me during the times I was difficult because I know there were plenty of occasions when I was. Thank you for seeing the best in me when I was at my worst. Thank you for loving me during the moments I was hard to love.
Thank you for the fun nights out and the quiet nights in, too. Thank you for being my go-to people for the good news and the bad news and the silly in-between days' news. Thank you for celebrating me, thank you for grieving with me, and thank you for laughing at me and with me, too.
Thank you for showing me that family can be the people who feel most like home and that sometimes blood has nothing to do with it. Thank you for choosing me back as your family, too.
Most importantly, thank you for being my safe space. Thank you for standing by my side through everything you have. I couldn't have made it through 2022 without you.
Cheers to the many years to come. I love you.
For more like this, you can check out Molly’s work on Collective World and her upcoming book on Shop Catalog.
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This past year, I have found and made new friends, some as close as being like a blood sibling, but others have shown me that I no longer need their friendships. It is true that when someone in your life leaves, you are met with new friendships. Being soft-hearted has its setbacks at times. After giving a friend a second and a third chance to be that dear, caring friend they should be and they cannot prove it after a third time, it's time to let them go. Part of me wants to continue the friendship but I know in my heart it isn't meant to be. I cannot hang on to toxicity in a friendship. It's not healthy for me and it will prevent me from moving ahead in my life in the new years to come. I won't reach my goals hanging onto to toxic friendships. I must let them go so that I can move with the flow of forward energy, bringing to me my peace and prosperity.