Yesterday, I got to spend the day in my hometown and I got to spend a good chunk of time with Sydne, (my mom’s bff), Hillary, and Ashley (my partner in crime throught my childhood) and a few of their kids (which was super fun as I had never met some of them).

Speaking of low maintenance friends, these women are the best. I love them all dearly, I enjoy keeping up on their lives through their blogs, and I would do anything for them…and yet, we probably talk once or twice a year, and only see each other when I manage to make it back here and all of our schedules workout.

Anyway, when I got to Sweet Affair yesterday (this fabulous bakery with the most amazing sandwiches) and saw Sydne, I ran over to her (literally) and got a big hug and just started to cry. I kind of forget sometimes how much it sucks to not have a mom, but one visit with the Sydsters (as I like to call her) is enough to get me through an entire year. Seriously. Next to my own mother (yes, I actually wouldn’t have traded my mom, even with all of her quirks and crazyness), if I could hand-pick a mom, Sydne would be it.

She is hands down the best listener I know. Maybe it’s because she loves us, maybe it’s who she is, maybe it’s a little of both, but seriously, I feel like a new person. My favorite thing about how she listens is that she just listens. As I think back on the conversation yesterday, not once did she give me advice. She didn’t judge. She just listened and loved. And when she does have something to say, it is always the perfect thing…just exactly what I need. I think of all of the years of wisdom she has and yet it’s never about her and her being able to get her two cents in. Sydne is probably the most selfless person I have ever met.

Okay, I’m sure she has her flaws. We all do. But I’d be hardpressed to come up with any…maybe she’s a little too forgiving, but is that really possible?

Getting to have a relationship with Sydne as an adult is probably the closest thing I will have to knowing what it would have been like with my own mom, so I am especially grateful that she is still a part of my life. And I hope that I can be just like her (and my mom) someday. I hope that I am that person that people can turn to with their problems because I don’t judge, I don’t have my own agenda, I truly just want to help.

Yeah, I know. I’m not that person today. Don’t worry. No dillusions of grandeur here. I’ve got a long way to go, but it was nice to be reminded what my goal is.

Thanks for a fabulous day, ladies!