A funny thing happens when you let people into your life…you start loving yourself more.

One of the greatest gifts of 2023 was reconnecting with a group of friends from high school. When our family was at the beach over the summer, I ran into a girl I went to high school with and she invited me to be a part of a group text with some of our high school friends. I quickly came to realize that what she invited me to be a part of is so much more than a group text…it’s a support group and it has been amazing. We not only text, we get together once a month and OMG, it is so much fun! The first time I went to one of our get-togethers…my face hurt from laughing.

Admittedly, high school wasn’t the best time in my life and 2 years ago, I would have told you that most of these girls didn’t even like me, which was only my projection on them. I had gotten it into my head that I would never be part of their group for some reason and that was the silliest thing in the world for me to have thought.

I have reconnected with girls that I hadn’t previously seen for 30 years and now, I feel like I have a whole new group of friends that actually support and love me. As I said above, high school wasn’t the best time for me and this reconnecting has actually healed a part of me that I had given up on. The support and friendship of this group has made me feel more loveable and the biggest thing is…it’s made me want to love more.

Being on the receiving end of love and support makes you understand how important it is to also be the person to give love and support. Now, I want to take people birthday presents, send cards…I want to be the person to provide comfort when someone is going through a bad time.

When my mom passed away over Christmas, the outpouring of support and love from my friends (not just this group) was overwhelming. I still have cards coming and I’ve received so many texts that made me weep because they were so sweet.

So, the Golden Nugget, or gift from my mom’s passing, has been the simple but not so simple lesson of accepting love. I do believe people want to be and do good…I do believe that love always wins and I do believe that it’s healing to accept love and support when it’s offered. You get what you give and you give what you get. I have been given the gift of friendship and it feels like the best gift ever.

I’m including these images in this post because I’m wearing my mom’s fur coat. She loved this coat and I’ve worn it off and on in the past, but now, I’m going to wear it more often. I know that fur can be controversial, but I do feel that vintage fur is okay to wear and especially when the coat belonged to someone you loved. So in her honor, I’ll be wearing this gorgeous coat much more often on the cold days of winter!

You never know what a year will hold and looking back, there is always a gift…if you choose to see it!