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Feature Story: Chicken Soup For My Soul

August 24, 2010 by Lori Mitchell

I heard about a study on the news the other day that came to the conclusion that if you don’t have a circle of friends you have the same health risks as a person who smokes 13 cigarettes a day. How did they come up with 13 cigarettes? I have no clue, but regardless the message is important. We all need friends and I can say that a good majority of you reading this article are close personal friends of mine. Some of you are related but also friends.

I named this article Chicken Soup for My Soul for a reason. I’m going to talk about some of my friends and what a difference they have made in my life. Let’s get the Chicken Soup reference out of the way. One of my oldest and best friends is Dan. Dan is my current boss and has been here for me so many times when I didn’t know where else to turn. He has such a pure heart and is a very loyal friend. We haven’t always agreed and we argue and bicker, but it’s how we work together. He kicks my bottom at pool and darts and yells at me when he’s tired and can’t find the batteries because I cleaned out his closet, but if I need something, he’s one of the first people I call. To add to Danny is his family. You will never meet a more awesome family. His mom is an angel, his sister has been a friend since childhood, and more recently I’ve become friends with his brother and sister-in-law.

This is where the Chicken Soup thing comes in. Last week there was a conference that I was looking forward to going to. Jack Canfield was the speaker and as an aspiring writer I was so looking forward to this. Dan’s brother promised that he would get me an introduction to Jack. Unfortunately, my car died and I was unable to make the conference. Bob kept his word to me in an unexpected way. He went to Jack Canfield and told him my story. He asked for an autograph for me, but he went a step further and wrote me a letter. Bob took the letter and got me the book Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul. It truly touched my heart during a tough time. That is a true friend. I am so blessed to have this family for friends.

Kay is my most loyal friend. She’s the kind of friend prescription drugs without prescription how much cialis should i take that if she had to, she’d help me hide the body and not ask questions until the body was hidden, and then she’d kick my butt from here to eternity! Kay knows me better than almost anybody else in the world. She and I met in high school and became fast friends. Through the years we’ve lost touch from time to time for a few years at a time, but one of us always tracks the other down. For the last 10 years or so we have kept in touch. Though she lives far away, she is still the one person that I know I can count on to take my side, even if I am wrong.

SSSS. This is a group of women who are more like sisters than friends. I love these ladies so much and there have been so many times that I don’t know how I would have made it through a tough time without them. When I’m sad, scared, angry, lonely, hurt, I know that I can pick up the phone and call any one of these very special women. They know who they are, so there is no point in mentioning names here. I love you my sisters!

I know that I have so many more friends out there, but I can’t mention you all by name on here or this article will end up being 100 pages long. My point is that friends are necessary for a healthy life and I am luckier than most because I have some of the most incredible, loyal and loving friends. Last week I talked about my incredible family, this week it’s my incredible friends. If you don’t have friends that you know you can count on through years and miles you need to find some. My ex sister-in-law always told her daughters that you have to be a friend to have a friend, and that is great advice. Go out, make friends, and make sure you treat them the way you want to be treated. Yes, you will be betrayed from time to time, but eventually you will realize that you have a core of loyal friends that you can count on unconditionally.