During this week of giving thanks, there are many, many things for which I am grateful. I'm surrounded by people I love, who love me back. I have everything I need, peppered with several wants. My kids are happy, healthy well-adjusted kids. My husband takes good care of me and we share lots of laughs. I have a good life, you know?
Right now, I'm especially grateful that I can be thankful for good friends. I know there are people out there whose lives are so frantic, so dysfunctional, that they're simply in survival mode. They're so bogged down by their issues that they can't even think about having friends, let alone having time for them. Friends are a luxury they just can't afford. For me, friends are a necessity that I can't afford not to have.
Whenever I'm in Houston, I make a huge effort to visit old friends. I grew up in Arizona, but Houston is where I became a grown-up. My kids were born here. We bought our first house here. The friends I made here were a huge part of that becoming-an-adult process. Two nights ago I stopped in on a girlfriend, Liz. It had been a couple of years since we last saw each other, but as she bear-hugged me at the door, time and distance became irrelevant. A few minutes later, her sister (also my friend) Jen showed up at the door. Four hours later, our cheeks ached from laughter.
That's what good friends do. We laugh ourselves silly and love each other no matter how much weight we gain or what kind of mental trauma we cause our kids.
My life isn't a piece of cake. It's the whole dang bakery. And friends are the icing.
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