My Mother Didn't Tell Me Just How Great Friends Are....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0put0_a--Ng  (have a listen while you read)

One evening, in the not so distant past, I sat among my very close friends and just observed...listened as they chatted and laughed...talking about life, kids, new relationships, old relationships, a new restaurant, movie, theater production....playing hostess made it easy to excuse myself from the conversation and just sit back and enjoy the "noise"...and as I looked around the room...I thought "everyone has a story" - each of these people honoured me by including me in their life story....


Each of us admire the other for a particular reason...the friend who brings the logic , the friend who brings the fun, the friend who brings the intellect, the friend who brings the advice, the friend who brings the humanity....I found my emotional self touched- moved by the depth of connection...and know I am so very fortunate to have such a motley crew around.


By mere virtue of coming into each other's lives- we have become part of a shared adventure...I felt like the grinch- whose heart grew and grew....Some of us have cried together over life loss- a parent, a child, a sister, a brother...some of us had celebrated births, weddings, divorces...we support each other at our lowest points and celebrate the victories with sincere, heartfelt, unselfish joy....and yet at this moment when I needed to cry, play woe is me...and spill the contents of my newly scarred heart...I couldn't bare to ruin the frivolity, change the mood and change the laughter to serious discussion...


The evening wound down and there we were- just me and my very best friend. The friend who knows my best and worst, my bad hair days, my bad mood days, my crazy work days, my silly disco days...no secrets...the person with whom I am my most vulnerable...and trust with my whole being...The person I tell my happiest accomplishments, my deepest fears, my strengths , my weaknesses...who never judges me and I do the same for him ...We sat next to each other, he said his usual.. "hey pumpkin"...and we held on to a beautiful moment of unconditional love..the foundation of our friendship...he put his arm around me, I put my head on his shoulder as the tears made their way down my cheeks and we looked out over the city..."it'll be okay." he says...and we sat for hours...totally content just to be....