Inspiration/Motivation from friends

I am a person who needs friends-and I am noticing that it is more than just to keep me company. There have been many times that my friends inspire me to be a better person, or motivate me to step up and do something that I have been meaning to do but keep procrastinating.

Today I have been thinking especially about all the friends who have motivated me to exercise. Today -I was motivated by a new friend Natalie -well, a new friend from the past : ) You would think that learning that the new rec center is FREE for the next month would be enough to motivate me to exercise...but it wasn't. It took my friend setting a day and time--not a couple days away- but 'tomorrow at 6am,' and offering to pick me up, and calling me when she got here and waking me up since my alarm didn't go off. Thanks to her we got a great cardio workout, some muscle building, watched the sun rise during our cool down, and I still had time to come home, take a shower-and even wash and dry my hair and be ready to go to work by 8:30am. You see it is friends like this that I couldn't do without. Here are a few things that my friends have inspired me to do:

• As far as exercising goes-it started back in High school with my best friend Nicole when together we started pre-season track workouts. This led to some of the most intense workouts I think anyone has ever done, I still look at these days and think of them as my Glory Days.-Man-we were buff--and tan-and we could sprint for a half mile! Then there was a spurt in Boston where Chris got me to meet her at the gym, and we were on a roll for a few months. Good times at the YMCA!
• Missy and Lisa got me psyched about making freezer meals--which most importantly got me motivated to cook period--the fact that I actually had meals for two weeks was an extra special bonus.
• Thanks to Heather and Kris keeping me updated on soccer registration deadlines my little Rach can play a team sport. Honestly I think of myself as being organized, but those deadlines never seem to make it on any of my calendars- and I would have spaced them completely.
• Lindy and Adah (and actually Christine back then when she was free) would always inspire me to forget for just a little bit about being a mom and have fun with my husband :-) Not sure you guys ever noticed that-but I really noticed it the first time we watched fireworks on Memorial Drive. I was so focused on keeping Rachel happy and awake and I looked over and your husbands both had their arms around you, and it was dusk and the Charles River and the entire Boston skyline was behind you-and it was so romantic-and I was missing it! So I made Rachel a bottle and let her fall asleep and was able to enjoy just a few moments in bliss.
• So many other friends motivate me in many ways (and I reserve the right to add on to this post as I remember all of them). Kim & Liz motivate me to get out of the house and do fun stuff! There is always stuff to see and who says you can't drag your kid to where ever you want to go! Lace inspires me to keep my house clean-it can be done with kids. Jen motivated me to start finding cool places in Phoenix to show out of state visitors-- I know I will find some someday :-) So many of you inspire me to be happy (even when you are dirt poor ;-) and just to keep going even after strings of bad luck.

Thanks to all of you for all that you do to make me more of the person I want to be!

How do your friends motivate/inspire you? Tag you're it! I want to hear about it