I have been best friends with Michelle for almost 8 years now - ever since Diego (aka "Superman") said to me while dancing an East Coast Swing "I have a friend I want you to meet.  She could use someone like you to help guide her life."  I didn't think he was serious on the guiding part or that I of all people would have anything to contribute, but he knew what he was doing in introducing us.  Like me, Michelle was a single mom trying to get by day-by-day, but the difference was, she couldn't seem to get on track or get ahead.  For the next year, life was a blur..........not because we were out having a good time (which we did frequently), but because two single women with five kids between them made life hectic.  She made me try sushi, I insisted on cutting her 3yo son's hair since he looked like a little girl, she cooked me great homemade Itallian food, I got tired of listening to her whine about wanting a bellyring so I made her get one, she kept me from going back to an unhealthy relationship, I kept her from making some seriously bad choices and since her wanting to introduce me to one of her old boyfriends & my agreeing, led to her meeting his best friend who is now her husband, I get credit for that!  LOL  Our relationship has been one of give and take from the very begininning, although she will probably insist I did more giving than taking.  I disagree completely!

It seems that throughout the years I have been just one small step ahead of her in life.  I'm not sure why, but God puts me to the test, usually on a smaller scale, and then not long after that, she goes through something similar, usually on a much bigger scale.  Or maybe that is just her ability to blow a minute event into a full blow catastrophie!  (Seriously, I do love you Michelle, drama and all!)  So although I am not that smart, or that insightful, my experience through it leads me to good advice giving which makes me look like a genius to her - I wish!  She in turn, can calm me down during any breakdown, make me laugh when everything is making me cry and when life seems more than I can handle, she is my faithful cheerleader that I can handle ANYTHING.  Her reasoning: If I can't handle it and fall apart, there is no hope for her. 

We are back on a parallel path right now with our teenage sons - mine has been in a program out in UT since Mother's Day weekend and hers just got accepted into a program to start next month.  Once again, my life is less dramatic and I am one step ahead of her through the process, but this has allowed me to "guide" her in all that she does.  Her coping ability, parenting ability, relationship with her husband, etc.;  I am so humbled by it all - that God would trust me in showing her what she is too stubborn to see from Him herself.  Even though I have been giving her advice for years now, her recent visit for a week in my home is what "opened her eyes" in her words.  As parents, she and her husband would hear what I was saying as it related to my own family and thought "there's no way that could work for us.  They're too strict."  After seeing first hand how our family works and how our children live, they have returned home to take control of their own house.  I in NO way think my way is the best or only way, but learning how we do what we do has enabled them to adapt it for their own lives.  The changes in a week have been amazing and even though she tells me in our daily phone calls how grateful they are to me, I am truly not worthy.  Without God's direction in my life, I would have no idea how to lead her.  I am the first one to admit that I have NO CLUE of what I am doing and if my children don't grow up to need years of therapy, then I will be truly surprised!

I guess the point of all this rambling comes to this -
1.  I am so grateful and thankful to God for all of the blessings and guidance in my life that enables me to help someone I love so much.
2.  I am so incredibly proud of Michelle for seeing what she wants her life to be and taking the hard steps to make it happen.  Above all, her efforts to step back and lean on her husband for the first time in their marriage instead of trying to keep control of the reins.  Kudos to Ryan for setting his laid-back attitude aside and taking charge of it all!
3.  Happy Birthday Michelle!! - you keep my feet on the ground, my dreams above the clouds and my heart full of love just by being a part of my life.  You're a HUGE pain in the butt sometimes, but I love you more than I could love a sister - please don't ever forget that!