My Best Friend

My Best Friend



                             By BettieJo Cunningham



    My best friend is an ordinary person that inspires people with her kindness, compassion and understanding. She is an ordinary person with troubles like everyone else but has a way of making yours not seem so bad. Every problem that is brought to her is given a simple solution or piece of advice that may not always be right but will bring comfort.

The third daughter of four she was caught between being a middle child but not quite the youngest. Growing up she had fights with her sisters over the usual trivial things such as boys, make-up and not enough privacy. Not always understood by her mother she suffered from depression over the usual teenage angst’s. But it was the turmoil in her home life that made her so understanding of everyone else. If you had a complaint about your mother you could guarantee that she would have some piece of advice that would calm you or at the most just make you feel as though you weren’t alone. Brother or sister bugging you, well she could always top it.

An enduring friend too many through her teenage years, she was always ready to lend a shoulder to cry on when you needed it or was quick to try and put a smile on when there was really nothing to smile about. An ordinary teenager she passed through high school with much the same problems and attempts at experimentation as anyone else. At one point she had hit a low spot at home and the fighting had caused her to run away many times. But running away soon taught her that running from a problem rather than facing it wasn’t the right way to get through life. It was this lesson that allowed her to gain the strength and courage for what life had to offer.

When she lost touch with someone you could guarantee that she never forgot them and it may take her a while but she would find them again. Generally when this happened she had a way of making it seem as though time had stopped when you fell apart. Though life may have changed much she would always make sure that you knew that she was your friend and that you were hers. Loyalty to friends and those she loved is and always will be something that she has always believed in.

When she became a mother for the first time I remember her telling me about how scared she was about having a new life to care for and be responsible for. For every ounce of fear though there was the happiness about becoming a mother and having a child of her own to care for. The idea of having something to call her own and know that she could always love it was a powerful feeling for her. Then when the child came all of the fear evaporated and only happiness prevailed.

Being a mother brought on a whole new aspect for her, one that didn’t always appeal to her husband and though she tried to incorporate the two lifestyles they simply didn’t work. For a time she was separated and in a dark place and was unsure of what to do with her life and how to proceed only knowing that what was most important was the fact that she was a mother. A mother fights for her child and tries to make a relationship work, but when the second child came along she gave as good as she got and got going.

The idea of being a single mother had not appealed to her but it was something that she had to do and did. When faced with leaving her children with a babysitter she dutifully swallowed the tears and went to work knowing that this was going to make a better life for her children. When asked whether she liked being a single mother she would reply, ‘I’m doing the best I can do with what I can do.’

Many years later she is now the mother of four and has a new man in her life and is still an inspiration to many when she speaks of the problems that she has with her children. The fighting and bickering tend to get her down along with the other problems of having a house that doesn’t always want to run right or a boyfriend that wants more than what she can give. Despite the furnace not running properly or the kids fighting over something senseless she still finds a way to drag herself up and make everything alright again.

No matter what is going on in her life whether it is happiness or sadness she is always attuned to what is happening to those that she cares about and loves and is willing to listen and weigh in. You got a man issue, well she’ll tell you if she can top it then give you the best piece of advice at her disposal and if you just want to complain about him she’ll listen. If you want the truth about your character she’ll give it to you even if she knows it will smart, then like all good mothers she will try to soften it with something positive. Unhappy about life in general, well she’ll give you the low down about the negative aspect of her own life and we’ll see who can top who. The issue doesn’t matter only the fact that she will always give you her honest opinion and with as much compassion and kindness as you would give to her.

Now despite everything with her children she has decided to go to school again and in doing so proves too many of those other mothers out there that you can begin again. With her actions she shows people that you can be a mother, lover, and best friend. She is an ordinary person that inspires with compassion and kindness.