October was a bit on the wild side.
Every weekend this month, I’ve had different house guests. Which basically means that the guest bathroom was super-duper cleaned each week and the wash machine had washed a lot of towels and bedsheets. (Wiping my brow) Hosting is exhausting.
To say I had guests is actually an understatement. Friends…True friends, visited. They are those people. You know, the ones that you can’t seem to shake out of your life–no matter how hard you try.
They are funny jerks who always know what to say at the most inappropriate times…
“I think you’re happier than you think you are.”
“You’re a hack.”
“I bought these for you because I know how much you like birds.”
“Writing books didn’t work. Maybe try writing lyrics.”
“You’re never going to fit in anywhere because you’re kinda weird.”
“Some yards have fences. Some don’t.”
“Did you ever think that your purpose is being a good wife?”
And that’s what I love about them.
These friends have seen me at my finest, when all was going well. When smiles and jokes came easily. During those good times of life, they have taught me some the best practices to remove wall paper, how to build a successful entrepreneurship, and how to win every verbal battle when discussing rivalry colleges.
We’ve laughed in a taxicab during a blizzard in a Taco Bell line. (Uber wasn’t a twinkle in the eye yet.) We’ve philosophized about aliens, ghosts, and government conspiracies. (They all exist!) No topic was off the list.
On the flip side, these so-called house guests, or friends, as we’ll call them, have helped me off the ground when I wallowed in my own self-deprecation. They’ve seen me struggle when adulting was at its hardest. You know the feeling, right? When life pokes you in the face with a ten-foot pole and then laughs at your tears? My friends were there. At different stages of my life. Different geographic locations. Different issues. (By rule, I only have one issue at a time.)
Our ages stagger. Though I must admit, I’ll always be the youngest of the group. We have known each other for decades. In more recent years, we don’t see each other on a weekly basis, or even a monthly basis. But, one thing is for sure, when we get together, it is like no time has passed. Check that, I know time has passed because our wrinkles are a little deeper, our guts a little bulgier, and our joints pop a little louder.
We are growing old together. While one will hold my cane while I pee, another will steal that same cane to smack a teenager too close to the freshly cut grass. Get off my lawn!
I wish you all friends like the ones I cherish.
Thee best friends are there for it all! Great post.
Love this one! And at your home I have never felt like a guest🤗
This post sings. You come alive when you discuss these wonderful friends. It takes work to maintain relationships and I think you and them are pros! My favorite line. “I know time has passed because our wrinkles are a little deeper, our guts a little bulgier, and our joints pop a little louder.” and then the next transition line…perfect “We are growing old together.” Some of my friends, who are just a teensy bit older than me are having big time medical things HARD,HARD,HARD. xo