Profess Your Love

Day 5 of the "Blog Every Day in May" challenge:

"Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them?"

I'm pretty excited about today's topic because this is something I've been wanting to say for a while now.  I have been truly blessed with an amazing friend named Ally.  She is one of the kindest, most generous, loving, thoughtful, courageous, funny, smart, beautiful, adventurous people I've had the pleasure to know.  I am so lucky to have her in my life.

If you read Ally's blog you might know some things about her: she loves musicals and Hugh Jackman, London and Princess Kate, yoga and dance, running and races, pretty dresses and the color pink, her friends and family.  But what you might not realize until you meet her and spend some time with her is that she has an old soul, she makes friends everywhere she goes, she has a weak spot for babies and dogs, she believes in wishes and fairy tales come true, she has the loudest, most wonderful laugh that can fill an entire room, she wears her heart on her pretty pink ruffled sleeve, she can drink wine out of a Twizzler straw like a boss, she has a Texas twang with a laid-back California attitude, she's generous to the point of giving you the Burberry coat off her own back to make sure you're warm.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg as to why I love her.

This past year she's gone through some stuff...serious stuff that's broken her heart and changed her life.  Stuff that has tested her faith and her friendships.  And, in my opinion, she's handled it all with more grace, patience and humility than most people I know ever could have done.  She's come out on the other side with a smile and a renewed sense of purpose.  She's finding herself. She's so brave.  She is so strong.

And despite whatever she might be personally going through, she's always there when needed, to take a phone call or answer a text, to send a photo of a handsome freckled stud, just to listen or to provide some encouragement and support.  She's shared her heart and her home with me and my child.  She loves with every fiber of her being.  She's a true friend in every sense of the word.  

So this, my dear Ally, is my public profession of love and devotion to you.  Thank you for being my friend.