I Get By With A Little Help

I've said this before, but I really admire the people in my life. Somehow I feel like I've always been so tremendously blessed to associate with what I feel like are the best people this world has to offer.

• I think my favorite thing about my parents is that they are the hardest working people I know. They definitely have their faults, but they do anything to provide and make themselves available the best they know how. My dad definitely isn't the most in tune person with feelings and such, and talking with him on the phone is the absolute worst, but anytime I'm home and around him, I always feel like I'm the most important person to him. And that's weird too because he seems so inattentive in other ways, but I've learned more and more as I've gotten older what things he does do well, and that is certainly one of them. When I'm in his presence, I feel like there isn't anyone he loves more than me. My mom is flat out the most giving person I've ever known. She would sooner give you the last $5 she has in her pocket than keep it for herself. Maybe all parents are like that, but I honestly feel like she does more for the people around her than anyone I've ever known. And my brother...he's just always been my hero. The guy has a moral compass like you wouldn't believe. I just love that about him.
  
• Among all the great qualities about my best friend, one of my favorites is that he is probably the most thoughtful person I've ever met. His older brother is actually very much the same way. I actually remember when we first started hanging out in the 8th grade and noticing how aware they were of other people and really admiring and wanting to be like that. He's probably the best gift giver I know of, but maybe that's just because he knows me better than any person on the planet. But that's the thing about him too, he just notices those kinds of things about people. He's so attentive to his wife. I think one of the reasons I love his wife is because of the kind of person that she makes him. He is a better person because of her.
  
• Both of my roommates are just the nicest guys in the world. One of them just always wants other people to be happy and having a good time. And he's kind of adorable because he's just a really simple person, but he's always wanting to provide for other people in so many different ways. Like a few months ago there was a girl that I had mentioned having some interest in, and so he would actually look for her in church for me, even before I could, and always go and sit by her so that when I found him I would also find her. It seems small, but he's just always doing those kinds of things. My other roommate is completely devoted to his family. He has a brother that's down in San Diego that was moving a couple months ago, and he actually took a Friday off from work, flew down, and helped his brother move his entire house the whole weekend, then flew right back up. I've also known him to fly down a couple of times just to accompany his brother on the 12 hour drive from San Diego to Ogden, Utah, while his brother's wife and children flew in to town. I know some people that hardly lift a finger for their own family that are living in the same city, but he'll take off work and pay for his own flight down to help out his siblings. And he's like that with all of his siblings; there are seven others.
• My friends here in Utah are just all so great. I feel so fortunate to have built up a network of people here that I really admire. The funny thing is that a lot of these people I probably wouldn't have picked out right away to be friends with, especially in my younger days, but because I didn't know anybody when I came up here, I just opened up to whomever made themselves available to me, and over time, I've been able to meet so many great people. As a whole, about them I can say that they are all so kind, creative in their own ways, and real. They all have so many life experiences, and none of them are very shy about it, so there's so much that I feel like I gain from their insight.
• I've even been lucky enough to date really great girls. What I think I can about all of them is that they have all been smart, and they're all really fun to talk to. I guess the conversation aspect of a girl must be the thing I most value because with every single one of them, I feel like I could spend hours on end just sitting around and chatting. They've all been really insightful, and I'm grateful for the experiences I've had knowing them.
  

I don't know. I was just thinking about a lot of these people on Sunday and I felt so grateful just to know them. There is supposed to be a mutual level of exchange when it comes to relationships, but I always feel like I'm the primary beneficiary. It's so surprising to me how many people I just love hearing from - their stories, what's going on in their lives, how they're feeling.

I was visiting with one friend last night, and most of our association has been in a pretty rough period of life for her, but lately she's been doing pretty well, so it's nice to get to know her as she's been feeling more on top of things. Then later last night I was chatting with one of my closest friends, and I was marveling at how well things have turned out for him with school and finally finding some direction. It's really obvious seeing the Lord's hand in his life the last two years. I don't know. I just love hearing all this stuff, and I love the people in my life.

I'm pretty sure I did a post just like this a couple months ago, and maybe even with the same title, but I feel like I have to give tribute to those around me. I'm glad to know y'all.