I have a friend who is one of the most honest, caring people I know. She's incredibly smart and well read, very much an old soul which I think intimidates some dudes (though as she stated recently, she don't need no man). She's one of those people who loves you even when you can't love yourself. I should know since she's one of my go to people when I screw up and can't stand to look at myself. No matter how stupid or sleazy the issue, she doesn't judge it. She talks you down and says, 'Now how can we get through this' and walks with you out of the fog. She refuses to let you dwell in your disasters. There aren't many people around like her. She thinks she can be mean spirited or insensitive sometimes (and she can) but the good in her far outweighs the bad. I can be overly sensitive at times but I've still never felt like she was minimizing my feelings or brushing off my problems. I don't think she grasps how awesome she is. Anyone who can trade smart ass remarks with me, put up with my stupidity and appreciate my ability to rock her world with my kazoo (that's right, I said it) deserves a medal.
I have another friend who lost a sibling recently and called on me to help her through it. I wasn't sure how helpful I could be since I've never been in that situation but it turned out to be more about being there for support than anything else. I've known this person for three years though sometimes it feels more like twenty (in a good way) and we have dealt with some crazy stuff in that time. But she's hands down one of the strongest women I've ever met and that's saying something considering I grew up around a ton of strong chicks. She knew me before I had a child and she's stuck around through some interesting circumstances since I became a father. I was a mess when we met but she took all of it on as if it were nothing. It was nice to see her family again (though I wish it had been under different circumstances) and we had a good time just hanging out together. It wasn't awkward and it wasn't as somber as I thought it would be, it was just two friends talking and watching cheesy old movies. Then I went my way and she went hers.
I guess the point of all this is that I realized over the weekend how lucky I am to have these two people around. It seems like there are a lot of folks who can't find one person they can trust with their life but somehow I ended up with quite a few. Not sure what I did to deserve that. And I don't think I tell the people in my life how much I appreciate them and I should know better after where I've been. And I'm not sure why I'm suddenly so sentimental but I want both of you to remember this post the next time I say something that causes you to refer to me with a term of endearment (you know, 'bastard', 'ass' ;p).
