A Word About Friends.

Friends are the floatation devices of life. The old ones (like my oldest friend, Sue) remind you of who you essentially are. After.. holy crap... TWENTY-NINE YEARS of knowing someone, let's face it: They know it all. And they still seem to like you anyway. Or they do a damn good job of pretending. But truly, it's nice to visit with your friend and, despite being tired and old, be able to go back to that old friendship, and come away feeling like a kid again.

Friendship has gems of memories that tend to pop up during the course of everyday life. These gems have the power to take you right back to being 13. I can hear a Led Zeppelin song, see an ugly hat in Kmart, stumble across a bag of Lily popcorn, read the word "crimson" (as in "crisis") and instantly be reminded of that time when we created and lived in our own world.

Friendships formed in adulthood have those powerful memory gems, too.
Whenever I see an amp of epinephrine, boom! I think of Marlena. The Body Shop? Jane. Snackwell cookies? Liz. She was my roommate, and I used to eat her food, and once I dropped her cordless phone in the toilet. (And yes, we are still friends; just saw her Monday).

Now, when I see ladybugs,I think of...who else?
Ladybug. She's quite an amazing woman, and I am honored to say she is my friend. Funny, kind, smart and caring,
she's the newest crown in the permanent collection.

So that's my little homage to friendship. Here's to good friends.

(I know. That beer commercial is going on in my head, too. Budweiser. Blech.)


Update: It has been brought to my attention that I have faulty beer advertisement memory. Hmm.