Good times

Spent last night sitting around a lovely bonfire with a crew of friends from high school, drinking microbrew and talking of both old and current times. Theres nothing better than catching up with those you don't normally see, and none of it would have happened if it wasn't for the social glue that binds us all together - Syd. Syd has been one of my dearest friends since I was about 17 or so - she's stuck by me through everything, flown back from school in CO when I had my first major broken heart (well, at least since I knew her), stood in my wedding party as a bridesmaid (in a dress, with shaved legs! If you knew Syd, you would understand how huge that was...), and essentially bent over backwards to see me every time she's been back in the area, even though it's never been for more than a couple days. Needless to say, when Syd called me two days ago asking if I'd be around to chill because she was coming back on a family emergency, I cleared my schedule immediately.

There is nothing in the world more important than having friends of this intensity - the kind that you know, absolutely and without a doubt, that they will not only be there when you need them, but will carry your dead weight on their back (literally or figuratively) until you're in a safer place. In my lifetime, I've come across five such people (most of them before I even left high school) and cherish them dearly - I hope they all know who they are. Though they all, save one, live scattered across the country - and occasionally the globe - rest assured that they all (myself included) are ready to drop everything to come through at the right time, whether stressful or joyful. Safety net - peace of mind - rare breeds, all of them. I am forever thankful for their acquaintance - my surrogate family.