One of Those...

When life is too hard to bare, or so you think, it’s comforting to know there’s someone near who is willing to share those rough moments with you. If you think it, she says it. If you say it, she finishes the sentence.

Is it possible to meet and acquire a ‘best friend’ in your 30’s? Yes. I’ve been blessed with such a gift. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not all that easy to get along with. I’m critical, a perfectionist, and generally do not like people; I prefer to watch them from a distance like the alligators at the zoo. But, for some strange reason that either of have not been able to truly figure out, we clicked.

Now, that’s not to say we don’t get on each other’s nerves, because we do. When those moments arise and of late, there hasn’t been many, we know to give each other the necessary space needed. I usually put her on time out and she lets my calls go to voicemail. :-)

It dawned on me the other day after my family reunion just how much she means to me. There aren’t many folks who would volunteer to help with your family reunion. Not just set tables or fold napkins, but sit at the ‘registration’ table and deal with aggressive family members who demanded a certain sized T-shirt or more than what they were entitled. The kind of friend that was up at 6 in the morning, out at the park 3 hours before it started to set up and stayed 2 hours after it ended to help clean up; that’s what I’m talking about…and STILL showed up the next day at the finale to put in even more hours of her time! That’s Love (yes, with a capital “L”)

This isn’t the first and I’m confident enough to say it won’t be the last time she’s stepped up and walked hand in hand with me when I needed her. During other various crisis, big or small, she’s right there. In the midst of many breakdowns, known and unknown, she’s talked me through. Sometimes she doesn’t say anything which I can’t decide is just as or more valuable to me.

I think what touches my heart the most is that she took the time to get to know me and is hanging tight with me and my crazy mood swings and moments of dispondency. She’s willing to roll up her sleeves and go to war or to sit and listen when I analyze myself or a situation I’m going through and chimes in with just enough advice to nudge me in the right direction.

She’s the only person I know that I can spend the day with shopping (literally) and still want to hang out with in the evening into the wee hours of the night. Our conversations are stimulating and thoughtful. We learn from each other and WITH each other. We cry together and sit in silence together and know exactly what it all means. No words are needed, we know.

Yes, I have one of those…a Best Friend and I love her dearly (T.E.)