New People and a dinner date!!

First- thanks to the new people who have come via Bouncin' Barb- welcome and I hope that you enjoy my little corner of the world. Barb- thank you for the award...it means more to me than you know and I am going to pass it along...but need to narrow down the field a bit more!
Tonight I had dinner with one of the most amazing people that I know.  She and I have known each other for ten years.  She is several years my elder, but we have the best friendship.  We haven't seen each other in months and have been exchanging voicemails for a few months.  She called me and left me a message the other night and said, Monday night dinner, the usual place.  It was so good to see her.  I honestly believe that I am blessed by the most wonderful people in my life.  There are those that I see on a regular basis and those that I see once every few months, even years.  It's those people who you can sit across a table from and have a conversation like you were together yesterday, who genuinely want you to cut the crap and want to hear about how your life is really going that are the blessings.  Those people, who know just when to call, just when to insist on dinner, just when to tell you to take a break that are the most important.  Girlfriends are amazing creatures...you can talk about anything and no matter how much you love your husband, boyfriend, significant other, they are the ones who know what you are thinking without you saying it, who you can feel like you talk to every day when in reality it's been months, who forgive you for missed voicemails and who can feed your soul, renew your spirit and sit and talk with you for hours about nothing at all, but you leave full of smiles, full of renewed hope and knowing that all is going to be okay.  This woman, my dear friend, has grace and poise, can make you laugh and thinks nothing of shedding a few tears, who grabs my hand at dinner just because it's been that long since we've been together, who gives you kisses on the cheek to leave lipstick there, who hasn't had the best summer, but also knows it could have been worse, who for a few hours makes time stop, the world slow down and who knows just when to say it's time for dinner, she makes me smile and makes me realize how truly blessed I am to have people like her in my life.