Friends; How Many of Us Have Them?

Remember that song by Whoodini? Yeah, that was back in the day when the last thing on any of our minds was responsibility, let alone being a parent. But look at us now; all grown up trying to carry the weight of the world on our bare shoulders and for some of us that task is being done all alone. If any of you out there know me then you know that I'm full of pride and will walk a country mile bare foot before I open my mouth to ask for help. During these last few months you guys have followed me as I went through hell and back; from losing my government job, to being on welfare and fighting with unemployment. But fortunately for me, things have begun to turn around in my life. During the course of the last two weeks I've interviewed for several jobs (keep your fingers crossed) and unemployment finally kicked in (yes, I did a happy dance). But it was during these lean months that I came to realize who was really here for me; who my real friends were.

They weren't the people who hung into my every word when I was riding high; those who willingly stood in the spotlight with me when I was on top of the world as a bestselling author. No, it was the people who stepped up when others walked away when my perfect world began to fall apart. It was the individuals who knew the real Carey and not the groupies of CJ. People that I'd helped throughout my career where suddenly no where to be found or too busy to even accept my calls or return an email. They'd moved on to the next 'It Girl'. No, my real friends were and still are the people who noticed that I'd isolated myself from the rest of the world. They were the ones who called or drove in from out of town just to see what in the hell was going on with me. Yes, my ride or die BFF's were the individuals who put out a helping hand and assured me that it was okay to hold on to it while I went through these ruff times. They were my rocks in the storm, my shelter from the rain. They knew what I needed without me ever saying a word.

Sometimes God has to take us through some things before we can see clearly the big picture that is our life and the people who mean us well. He lets us go down into that valley because we need a wake up call; a reality check and He knows this is the only way we are going to 'get it'. And while we're stumbling around in the shadow of darkness we began to realize that certain people aren't who we thought they were. As we reach out into the unknown only to find people who really care about us, we began to see clearly that the only being who never left our side and sent those real friends to our rescue was God. This blog is dedicated to Maya and Michael and my brother Wil...the three people who helped me to keep it together and extended a helping hand as I found my way out of the valley.