So right now, as in five seconds ago, I just burst into tears. Good thing Patrick and Aleesha weren't awake yet, haha :P Right in the middle of singing Dixie Chicks, eating my Corn Pops, talking to Chris and reading this article titled, "11 Ways to Build an Extraordinary Life"

Please click the link and have a read. You won't regret it. The two particular points that contributed to my tearing up are as follows, with the bold text (except the paragraph titles) being what really hit home:

Build Quality Relationships/Discard Destructive Ones - The quality of your life is directly related to the quality of the people you choose to have relationships with. Make sure your relationships are two way relationships. If they are all take and little give they are will suck the happiness out of your life.

Love: Look for a partner who is on a similar journey as yours, who has similar goals and values, and build on your relationship by giving your love and encouragement. Be ready to compromise, because great relationships are built on shared visions not selfish ambition. Share the difficulties and the rewards. Listen closely. Be patient.

Friendship: Look for people with similar values, who give as much as they take, with which you can share interests and hobbies. Good friends don’t try to change each other, they accept each other for who they are. Laugh, listen, and offer help.

Things have been happening these last few days and weeks and months. To focus on the first, I realize why I love who I love and the effort I think I put into this relationship isn't never just enough. I hate compromises, but when I want more, like a great relationship rather than just a great love, compromises are the long and short of everything.

The second bold point was the one that really made me stop and really just let myself cry. "Good friends don’t try to change each other, they accept each other for who they are." I have the best friends in the world. Beyond sharing this blessed apartment (and it's not-so-blessed rent), we share interests and hobbies. We share our lives, our loves, our happiness and our problems. We are an imperfectly perfect, quirk-filled, mod-squad family (because friends are the family you choose) and we wouldn't want it any other way.

~Vickie