The ones that keep me grounded...

There are nights when I dread my drive home from work at 2:30am.  It is a forty-five minute drive with no traffic, a large portion of which is down a dark curvy two lane highway.  There are nights when I wish I could just teleport myself directly to bed.  Tonight was not one of those nights.  Tonight, I NEEDED that drive to decompress.  Forty-five minutes in silence, to reflect on a pretty crazy day.  Forty-five minutes to adjust my mindset and attitude.  Forty-five minutes to remind myself that no matter what storms are swirling around me, I have a lot to be thankful for.  Tonight the recurring theme was friendship...these two groups of friends in particular

I have a job that allows me the opportunity to cultivate some pretty amazing relationships with the people that come to see me each week.  There are three that stand out.  Three that are among my favorite friendships to come out of my move to Seattle.  I met them while I was behind the bar.  Relationships that started over superficial talk of sports and everyday life have evolved.  Where we were once talking across a bar top, we now sit side by side on the same side of a bar or on a warm patio somewhere with discussions of the deeper sides of life, both the beautiful and ugly, and sometimes the hilariously stupid sides of life.  Conversations about moves, relationships, death, life, childhoods, and even penguins gave way to great friendships.  Friendships where I know that in a moment of weakness (or irrational frustration with myself), they will know the right words to say. Friendships that will (in the case of two of them) endure the unfortunate physical mileage put between us.  Friendships where I feel safe letting my guard down.  Friendships where there is genuine affection, care/love, and adoration shared.  For these friendships, I am thankful.

Then there are the friends that have been there through all of my ups and downs over the past decade. My friendships from Oregon have stood the test of time and distance.  I am blessed with the best group of close friends from home.  True friendships.  I love them all, but I am thinking of three in particular.  Three who know me better than anyone else.  Three who know the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of me and love me just the same.  Three with whom there is such an incredible connection, I don't even have to tell them anything is amiss.  Somehow, without fail, one or all of them will randomly send me a message that brightens my day.  Unsolicited acts of love and friendship.  This happened tonight, at a moment when I needed a heavy dose of sunshine.  For these friendships, I am thankful.

Thank you for allowing me to be me.  Thanks (to one in particular) for putting up with my minor break downs and negativity this week.  Thank you for loving, encouraging, listening, laughing with, and supporting me.  Thank you for letting me gush in moments of sentimentality.  Thank you mostly for being the friends that I need.  I love you guys!!!  Life is good.