Friends

Over the past week, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching and have just realized that I have the most amazing friends. I know that no matter what I've got a good dozen or so people that have my back, no matter what. Rob, Rob, Sam, Ben, Patti, Melissa, Mike, Brad, among MANY others. They each serve a very different purpose in my life. Some can make me smile when nothing else works, while others will sit with me and just cry and cry with me. Others will laugh at me and call me "special" when I do something ridiculously stupid, which happens pretty much constantly. These people. This handful of people, men and women. Some I've known for more than half my life. Some for less than half a year. These people. My people. I love them. Each in his or her own way. These people. They're my family. Coming from a close knit family, that means a lot to me. These people, they are my chosen family. I love them as much as I love my mother, and father, and grandmother. These people, they put up with me, with my crap, with me being dramatic, my erratic shopping trips, and my alcoholism. They keep me on a path, and make sure that I don't deviate from it (too much) and most of all, they keep me sane, happy, and most of all....they're there.

Thank you guys. I really mean it. and I love you all!

There's a quote from Dawson's Creek that I love, that's pretty long. But, every time I hear or read it, I think about my life..and how it's changed, and how it's stayed the same.

Joey: [voiceover] And now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. 'Cause there are things I wanna tell her... to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be ok. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are, will become an increasingly rare occurrence. Jen, Jack, Audrey, Andie, Pacey, and Dawson. These people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows. Because the truth is... it was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now. How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it's because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget. I can't swear this is exactly how it happened. But this is how it felt.