My amazing fu*king friends
"People are like cities. You live in them for so long you begin to get comfortable and forget how beautiful they are. Sometimes you have to leave in order to learn how much you'll miss them and to understand how they live in you."
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I have amazing friends. I don't think I even kind of understood that until this year. This weekend is a bit of a milestone for me (the details of which I will share at a later time) and my sister willingly paid to move her ticket up to be here. I texted a girlfriend a couple weeks ago and jokingly said "CAN'T YOU JUST COME TOO". She texted back a couple days later that her ticket was booked. I was shocked.
Last weekend my college roommate came to visit. I texted her at the beginning of the month and told her she should come see me. She wrote "okay!" and just.like.that. She came. We went to happy hour on Friday then both decided we were too tired to go out so we drank (way too much) wine and sat on my couch and watched the Sex and the City movie. The following day we last minute decided to go to a local music festival - we'd ran into the headliner, Young the Giant, at a vintage store earlier that day. We took it as a sign. Afterwards we ran into a couple members of the band at a local bar, we left with them and upon reaching our destination I looked at her and she just knew - uber time. So we left and laughed until we cried in the car. So ridiculous. So perfect.
The weekend prior I was in Dallas. I hosted a girls dinner that Friday night, everyone came. A couple girls got sitters for their kids, one changed plans with her husband, another was exhausted but made sure she made it. Sitting there I couldn't stop smiling. These girls, they showed up. They showed up for me. And they've never stopped.
Growing up I didn't have a lot of close friends. When you live in a house of secrets it's hard to let people in. Sure I went to the obligatory sleepovers. I had a "best friend" - the girl I swapped the heart necklace with and made photo collages for. But they weren't the "we'll still be friends until we're 90" people. In college I made a few close girlfriends, but as an adult and especially in the last few years, I've really learned what it means to be a true friend and in doing so was able to connect better with those around me.
I have male friends - in fact my two oldest friends are both males from high school. I dated neither. I made out with both (not at the same time). Then there are the girls. Some I've known since college, some I've only known a few years. Some are married, some have been divorced, some have kids, some are single and ready to mingle. They've lived all over the world, they're well traveled, they're independent. But mostly they are strong and they all have a point of view. At different times I have leaned on each of them for their knowledge and their life experiences. In my darkest days all of them stood by me. All of them showed up. One of my best friends showed up at my house on her one year wedding anniversary. I'm pretty sure I owe her a car for that. One of my male friends chose to fly here on his birthday. Really? Really. We sat outside the cheesecake factory and people watched (try it, it's better than the cheesecake).
With each time I've been in town they've come to dinner, come out, come for brunch. They've flown to a state I'm sure most of them couldn't have pinpointed on a map. They've texted and called and gchatted. The tears of sadness got replaced with tears of joy and I'm not sure how I could have gotten through any part of the last 3 years without them.
The people who mattered stayed. And the people that stayed matter.
This is for all of you. This is also to show not everything I write is dark and twisty and covered in my vomit of emotions (ok, maybe this still is, but at least their happy ones?)
You are all fucking amazing. I'm lucky I get to call you my friends.
And I'm sure I owe all of you a car.
Someday.
Maybe.
Err....hot wheels?
Thank you all. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
-----------------
I have amazing friends. I don't think I even kind of understood that until this year. This weekend is a bit of a milestone for me (the details of which I will share at a later time) and my sister willingly paid to move her ticket up to be here. I texted a girlfriend a couple weeks ago and jokingly said "CAN'T YOU JUST COME TOO". She texted back a couple days later that her ticket was booked. I was shocked.
Last weekend my college roommate came to visit. I texted her at the beginning of the month and told her she should come see me. She wrote "okay!" and just.like.that. She came. We went to happy hour on Friday then both decided we were too tired to go out so we drank (way too much) wine and sat on my couch and watched the Sex and the City movie. The following day we last minute decided to go to a local music festival - we'd ran into the headliner, Young the Giant, at a vintage store earlier that day. We took it as a sign. Afterwards we ran into a couple members of the band at a local bar, we left with them and upon reaching our destination I looked at her and she just knew - uber time. So we left and laughed until we cried in the car. So ridiculous. So perfect.
The weekend prior I was in Dallas. I hosted a girls dinner that Friday night, everyone came. A couple girls got sitters for their kids, one changed plans with her husband, another was exhausted but made sure she made it. Sitting there I couldn't stop smiling. These girls, they showed up. They showed up for me. And they've never stopped.
Growing up I didn't have a lot of close friends. When you live in a house of secrets it's hard to let people in. Sure I went to the obligatory sleepovers. I had a "best friend" - the girl I swapped the heart necklace with and made photo collages for. But they weren't the "we'll still be friends until we're 90" people. In college I made a few close girlfriends, but as an adult and especially in the last few years, I've really learned what it means to be a true friend and in doing so was able to connect better with those around me.
I have male friends - in fact my two oldest friends are both males from high school. I dated neither. I made out with both (not at the same time). Then there are the girls. Some I've known since college, some I've only known a few years. Some are married, some have been divorced, some have kids, some are single and ready to mingle. They've lived all over the world, they're well traveled, they're independent. But mostly they are strong and they all have a point of view. At different times I have leaned on each of them for their knowledge and their life experiences. In my darkest days all of them stood by me. All of them showed up. One of my best friends showed up at my house on her one year wedding anniversary. I'm pretty sure I owe her a car for that. One of my male friends chose to fly here on his birthday. Really? Really. We sat outside the cheesecake factory and people watched (try it, it's better than the cheesecake).
With each time I've been in town they've come to dinner, come out, come for brunch. They've flown to a state I'm sure most of them couldn't have pinpointed on a map. They've texted and called and gchatted. The tears of sadness got replaced with tears of joy and I'm not sure how I could have gotten through any part of the last 3 years without them.
The people who mattered stayed. And the people that stayed matter.
This is for all of you. This is also to show not everything I write is dark and twisty and covered in my vomit of emotions (ok, maybe this still is, but at least their happy ones?)
You are all fucking amazing. I'm lucky I get to call you my friends.
And I'm sure I owe all of you a car.
Someday.
Maybe.
Err....hot wheels?
Thank you all. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.