For a long time as an adult, I was missing that close friendship connection that you often have with others when you are young. Back before marriage and parenthood and adulting consumed the majority of our time.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always had some very dear friends and lots of acquaintances that I interact with fairly regularly. But life often gets in the way. We all know how it is.

What I’ve really been missing is someone I can call a “Best Friend”.

Not someone who wears the other half of your BFF charm, although I would be happy to do that, too. No, it’s so much more than that.

I’m talking about the people who you have a constant text conversation going with every single day to check in about nothing and everything.

The ones who will chug coffee (or Coca Cola) with you on a morning group FaceTime call on any given day.

The ones who you can always find when you need something, no matter how far they are from you in miles.

They are your partners in adventures out in the world.

They are those who are always willing to take a walk to a public bathroom or grab a slice of pizza at any time of day (or night) if the craving calls.

They are the ones with the inside jokes and outside voices when you are together.

They are the ones you can laugh with so hard that it hurts, and the same ones you can cry with when you can’t hold back the tears any longer.

They are the friends who give you all the moral support when something scary is happening in your life. Who pump you up when you are feeling down. Who cheer the loudest for you when you succeed – both figuratively and literally from across a crowded room.

A “Best Friend” is really just another phrase for someone who you can truly call your person. Your people.

And – here’s the really important piece – they are someone who feels the same way about you, too.

Having someone trust me to be one of their people – to truly value me and my friendship – is one of the best feelings in the world.

Find your people. Love them hard.

Because parenting is hard.

Adulting is hard.

And, through it all, I am so very thankful for my people. I know I couldn’t do it without them.