You guys, I haven’t worn my hair in a sock bun all week.

Is the apocalypse nigh? Wasn’t that a movie in the 80′s or something? Apocalypse Nigh? Oh no, that was Apocalypse Now. Never seen it, but I know it exists. I think.

What am I talking about? I have no idea.

Let’s start over, shall we?

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE. Or is it “every one”? It’s everyone. I’m sure of it.

I’m really glad that you all could experience me talking to myself as I write this blog post. These are the kinds of things that go through my head on a daily basis. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call “Stream of Consciousness Writing” – or just being straight CRAY after a rather lengthy week.

Anywho.

It’s Friday. And I’m going to quickly (or not so quickly) recap my highlights of the week for you:

1. Had a BLAST on Tuesday at a little shopping event at Madewell that Kate and Lauren hosted! I got to hang with some fellow awesome triFABB bloggers and I even FINALLY got to meet Kristin (even though I sadly didn’t get a pic with her)!

That’s Kate, Lauren, Lindsay (awesome Madewell associate), Carrie, and me:

2. Remember how I said coffee and I aren’t friends, but white chocolate peppermint mochas and me ARE? Yeah, I may have had a few of these this week:

3. YAY 19th Amendment! That’s just me making Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton proud. Also, that’s me creeping out everyone in my tiny polling place. BTW: living in a small town = no lines at the polls, y’all.

4. Spent some time babysitting these two over the weekend. It was as awesome as it looks.

5. It’s official: our dogs contribute nothing to society, but I can’t stop looking at them. They’re so dang cute.

As I was thinking about what else to write for #NaBloPoMo today, I came across a prompt that read, “Tell a friend something that they should never do.”

And it got me thinking.

I mean, you guys – yeah, you – whoever is reading this – I like to think of you as my friend. Maybe you’re just an internet friend or a blog friend or maybe even an IRL friend, but you’re my friend.

So, I thought about what I’d want to tell you to never do. I mean, I’ve talked about making mistakes before and how I’ve learned from my mistakes and how you shouldn’t commit the same mistakes I’ve made.

But I’m not going to talk mistakes today. I’m going to talk about something that can be incredibly hard, but from experience, I’ve learned is so important:

Never give up on those you care about.

Maybe it’s a friend or a family member or a coworker – whatever relationship it is, you know the one I’m talking about. The one that’s frustrating or exhausting or a lot of work – well, I’m here to say, don’t give up on it / them.

I feel like as a society (and maybe I’m just projecting here, or something), but I feel like we give up so easily. I mean, look at the rate at which marriages are ending. I mean, Kim Kardashian – 76 days to Kris Humphries. She gave up. They both gave up. Sure, they’re celebrities – but they’re still human and they were married and they gave up.

When I said my vows to John on February 18th, I said them for life. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that will make me stop loving him. And there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that will end our marriage. Why? Because we love each other and we love Christ and Christ is bigger than both of us and our love is stronger than anything – I believe it can be tested – and I’m sure it will someday – but we won’t give up – and we’ll come out stronger.

I have a few friends that I have been friends with, quite literally, since I was a baby. And sure, we’ve been through rough times, but they’re my friends and I love them and I will never give up on them. No matter what.

Sure, some friendships will come and go and there will be some people that will walk into and out of your life – and that’s okay. But that’s life – that’s growing up and maturing. There’s a difference between moving on, growing up, and giving up.

‘naw mean?

No but for real. If there’s one thing I want to tell you to never do – it’s to never give up on those you care about. Because somewhere along the way, you’ve stumbled – and someone believed in you, showed you love, gave you grace, and didn’t give up on you – you were able to grow because of that someone. And now look at where you are.

We all need someone to believe in us and refuse to give up on us.

So yeah.

And, while I’m at it, why don’t you thank that person who didn’t give up on you today. Send ‘em a text message. Write ‘em an email. Or heck, call them on the phone. Tell them THANK YOU for not giving up on you… ever. Thank them for showing you the love and grace you needed at a moment when you might not have even known you needed it.

Word? Word.

linking up with lauren, allison, and jeannett.