Challenge Day 7: My Best Friend

I have thought about this post for two days. The problem is that I'm not sure I can narrow down one best friend. If I were asked who my best friend is, I'd likely hesitate because more than one person would come to mind. I've been richly blessed in the friendship department over the years; not so much because of the number of friends but because of the quality of those in my life that I feel fortunate enough to call friends! I'm going to save Hagie for a post all of his own and keep this one about the group of women in my life that I consider family but aren't blood. My mom and sister are absolutely two people that I would identify as a best friend but I'll save them for their own post too!

I'm going to introduce you to the fabulous women friends in my life, in the order in which they entered my life. They are all incredibly important to me and have never failed to walk by my side.

Amy White Rene:

I met Amy when I was a graduate school student at The University of Georgia in the summer of 1999. Amy and I were both in the accelerated Master of Social Work program and had several classes together. In the beginning, Amy and I were just classmates. Once we got to know each other, our friendship blossomed pretty quickly. Amy was a key player in introducing me to the world of Child Protective Services. By the time I met her, she had already worked several years at Gwinnett Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) in the foster care unit. Amy took time out of her hectic schedule to introduce me to the powers that were at Gwinnett DFCS and I ended up with an interview and a job! Amy and I found that we had a lot in common and began spending time together on the weekends. This was in my single days and Amy had just divorced so we enjoyed going to the dance clubs with our other "DFCS friends." Amy and I have remained close and to date, she's been in my life almost 12 years! Amy is selfless, non-judgmental, fun-loving, honest, one of my biggest supporters, and always has the ability to calm my anxiety. Amy knows EVERYTHING and loves me anyway:). She is often a voice of sanity for me when my anxiety takes over. We have shared many memories over the years and we have definitely identified some favorite things to do together:

• Good conversation over a lemon-drop martini...or two :)
• Dance and yes, we dance better than your average white girl...just saying...
• We can talk hours about social work issues and not blink an eye!
• Allow the other to vent without offering a solution because sometimes we just need a listening ear
• Eat...love us a good meal!
• Travel (Buffalo, NY to Anita's wedding; the beach).
• In September 2011, we went on our first annual "Moms and Kids" beach trip! We had a blast!!
• Consignment shopping
• Amy was a bridesmaid in my wedding.

I am a proud Godmomma of Amy's daughter, Elza! Elza stole my heart before she ever entered the outside world. Not only are Amy and I bonded through friendship but we are now bonded through Elza. How lucky am I!

Natasha Rachell: I met Tasha in 2001 while I was working part-time at Bath and Body Works. Tasha was my manager.Tasha was a key player in moving me out of my part-time work at BBW, post Master's, to linking me to AJ Norris of Pathways.  What can I say, Tasha is my girl! Tasha and I have been through life milestones together and I have no doubt I could call Tasha anytime, day or night, and she'd be there for whatever I need. My friendship with Tasha is special. We don't get to see each other as often as we'd like nor do we get to chat as much as we'd enjoy, but when we do it's like we haven't missed a beat. Tasha and I "get" each other. When we talk, no explanation is necessary, no background information is needed and there is never a lack of words! Tasha is genuine. She loves from the depths of her heart. She has been a supporter of me and Hagie from day one and never misses an opportunity to ask how he's doing. She loves my little family and I love her for it! I've known Tasha now for about 11 years and I cannot imagine my life without her friendship. Some favorite memories of us together include:

• talking about the good-looking men that came into the store at Lenox through our headphones...we tend to have similar taste :)
• nights of red wine after closing the store at Lenox
• Tasha was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She was eight months pregnant with Jacob and I was in love with her belly!
• We've been through one pregnancy of hers and two for me. One of my favorite memories is of visiting her at DeKalb Medical when she had Jacob and sharing a "taste" of henessey in the hospital with her husband in celebration of Jacob.
• Dinner and beer at Taco Mac
• Weight Watcher buddies
• My memaw ADORED Tasha. Tasha went with me to visit my memaw a time or two and all memaw could talk about was how pretty she thought Tasha was!

Tasha is a constant source of sunshine in my life despite the limited amount of time we get to spend together.

Anita Gozdzialski Farooq: I met Anita in 2001 when I started working at Pathways Transition Programs. I'll never forget the day I was told I got the job. One of the administrators said to me "There's another blond, single girl working for us and I bet y'all have a blast!" Well, he couldn't have been more right! Anita and I are exactly 366 days a part in age. I'm older...hehe. Two Gemini peas in a pod. It  feels like we were instant friends. Not only did we work together, but we ended up living at the same apartment complex in Sandy Springs. It was great; all we had to do to hang out was skip across the courtyard! Not long after I began working with Anita, she and I were sent to Montgomery, Alabama for a work related training. Road Trip!! Training during the day, eating out and shopping at night. How could that be bad! Unfortunately, for many years of our friendship, Anita and I have lived in different states, different countries. I miss her to my core. I joke with her on the phone about how I NEEEED her to come to Atlanta. Okay, so that's not really realistic considering she currently lives in Doha but every time I talk to her I am reminded of why I miss her so much. Anita is a girl's girl! I love that about her. When we lived in the same complex, it was great; I got the benefit of her accessory collection! Anita has a open heart, she's genuine, committed, loyal and has an incredible ability to have fun no matter what. Anita and her husband, Umar, share the same wedding anniversary as Hagie and I. How cool is that!! Some of my favorite memories of my friendship with Anita are:

• road trip to Montgomery, Alabama (helloooo dance club)
• bottles of wine and episodes of Sex in the City
• Trips to Buffalo, NY
• house slippers
• staying up talking "girl" talk til we both literally fall asleep mid conversation
• quick, marathon shopping for a bargain
• Anita was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I was a bridesmaid in hers.
• Pole dance lesson in Buffalo, NY
• meeting to shop in the "ghetto" in between clients
• Connor's first airplane ride was a trip to visit Aunt Anita
• Four hour hair sessions at Salon Oliver in midtown. We scheduled our appointments together, for Friday afternoons, and enjoyed happy hour at the hair salon!

My love and respect for Anita goes beyond anything I can type here. I cannot wait til she is state-side and seeing her more regularly becomes a realistic option. Until then, we'll continue to play endless games of phone tag and a cram lots of life into phone conversations.

Elantrice Hughley: I met Elantrice in 2002 when I worked at Pathways and she was a Child Protective Case Manager in Fulton County. Initially, our time together was spent seeing the families she referred together at their homes. It turned into me recruiting her for a job at Pathways. I like to think I saved her from the DFCS world. My friendship with Elantrice A.K.A "Auntie," comes easy. Though I went to Disney World as a kid, Elantrice introduced me to Disney World as an adult. When Connor was 18 months old, Elantrice and I took him for his first trip. Since then, we can often be heard talking about our "need" to schedule another Disney trip, spend some time in "somebody's store" which typically consists of Target, Barnes and Noble or the mall. A quick stop at a Starbucks is always on the agenda no matter what we are doing...we need "fuel" for our play time! She got me hooked on what we refer to as "Triple M's." A marble mocha machiatto. Always good for the soul. Elantrice is a staple in my life as well as in the lives of my babies. For that, I am so grateful. There are so many qualities that make Elantrice a "best friend": she calls me out and tells me like it is, she's loyal, she's generous in more than one way, she makes me laugh, she's honest, she's an optimist, she's fun, and we enjoy a lot of the same things. She can also make fun of me and I have no choice but to laugh with her. Some of my favorite memories of our friendship include:

• many Disney World trips. I am officially a collector of many things Disney thanks to Elantrice
• camping out at the Disney Store to get Sammie the Disney Princess Designer Collection dolls, we left my house at 3:00am that morning.
• countless shopping trips with our Starbucks in hand
• lunches/dinners at Cheesecake Factory
• RV trips with the Hughleys
• Downtown Disney's World of Disney madness. "Do we need a basket?" "I'll just put it in my basket and decide later."
• I'll never forget the day Elantrice drove me to Snellville when my mom was in the emergency room and I was too anxious to drive. A great example of Elantrice's spirit.
• Fashion makeovers
• our ability to cut up no matter where we are and pay no mind to what others are thinking
• Weight Watchers

Not only is Elantrice one of my best friends, she is extremely important to the Cook household. Connor affectionately refers to her as "auntie" and has figured out all he has to do is look at her a certain way and she'll get him what he wants. But not before she "checks" his behavior. I am thankful for her friendship and the role she plays in my children's lives.

Three out of four of my girls were in my wedding. Here's a pic:

*I feel like I need to mention that I have a small group of amazing childhood friends that are not mentioned here. Those girls will be written about in a separate entry.