Ya gotta have friends

It happened quite by accident. On Christmas Eve, my friend Di and I had breakfast together. We share a meal together every year on Christmas Eve - it's a deal we made back when we were in college, and I think we've only missed one year in all this time. Anyway, that day she and I pencilled each other in for some quality time today, January 26. So off to Di's I drove after I got up and around this morning.

For Christmas, my gift to my niece Aubri was tickets to High School Musical on Ice. The tickets are for tonight.

So basically, I spent the morning and afternoon with Di, and I will spend tonight with Kelly and Aubri. It's hard to imagine that, just a scant two years ago, I was living in fear that I would spend the rest of my life alone, and that I would wither and die in my apartment, and no one would find me until I started to leave a not-so-savory aroma.

Clearly, this has not happened. Di and I sat on the sofa, joked and laughed. I made each of her children cry within about 15 minutes of walking in the door (obviously, I have a way with kids. And it wasn't my fault!) I was hugged and tickled and loved and just filled to overflowing with the good feelings that can only come from being with people who love you, just as you are. (It doesn't hurt that Justin, Di's husband and certified hunkadoodledoo, thinks my ex is kind of a loser.)

As if that weren't enough, tomorrow Amber is going to come over and we're gonna sit and watch movies and have dinner and just enjoy each other's company. I can't help but revel in the perfect 20/20 vision of hindsight, because now I live alone, but I have more love in my life than ever. It's sad that sometime the people who are supposed to love us the most can't manage to do that. But I think it would be even sadder if we never had the chance to realize how much love was out there, waiting for us, if only we would open ourselves up to it.