bringing me back to myself

sometimes it's friends that bring us back to ourselves. here's just a few of the ways i've been humbled by friends this past week:

lunch with Mr. M

last weekend i had lunch in oak park with mr. m. he and i go back to my days at the bowling magazine when i first moved to chicago. while mr. m and i don't talk a lot, he's one of those people who, when we do talk, always brightens my day.

so after many attempts of getting together since i got back to the states, we finally made it happen, his beautiful daughter in tow. as i've ho-hummingly shared in my previous posts, i've been in a serious funk lately, so i came to lunch with mr. m anxious about any conversations surrounding jobs. i just didn't want to talk about it, and i didn't want to seem like a pathetic wet rag to my upbeat friend.

as we were talking, he shared some of the hard stuff he's been going through lately. he then said, "you're one of the most positive, optimistic people i've ever met. i knew seeing you would be good for me right now." whoa. WHAT? in my current state, i felt like the LEAST optimistic or positive person EVER. i didn't even feel like being around myself at the moment, so him saying this meant the world. it's amazing what one person sharing his/her perceptions of us can do to a soul. for me, it gave me hope and made my heart happier than it had been in days.

regurgitated advice of MJ

MJ is a friend i met in spain. she now lives in texas, and we have been each others' rocks through this hard transitionary time. we've been leading oddly parallel lives since we got home. i have no doubt that i couldn't have made it this far without her.

however, MJ is a tricky biscuit. she has this amazing ability to remember every piece of advice i've ever given to her and spit it right back at me right when i need it most. i find this both endearing and annoying. just when i'm starting to enjoy wallowing in my own self pity, she'll say, "well, legel, didn't you tell me once that?" yep. yep i did, MJ. she's really, REALLY taught me that if i'm going to give advice, i need to take the advice i give. noted. 

a talk with my heart-warmer, E

E is a friend from my camp counselor days. like Mr. M, we don't talk all that frequently, but she's one of those people who i know i could call at any time and tell her anything in the whole world, and she'd have my back and then some. well, E and i finally talked tonight for the first time since i don't know when. what i love about E is that she always, no matter what, calms my heart-through her words, through her sharing, and through the mere tone of her voice. she somehow seems to bring me back to myself, and i couldn't be more thankful.

this past week i just had to get away, so i went to madison to spend time with some dear friends. last night P and his band played some songs in the living room, one of which was the song sang at little miss J's baptism. the song has many notable lyrics, none of which i really remember verbatim, but the song speaks to the fact nothing else really matters in life but our friends in family. today i'm thankful as ever for friends who remind me who i am when i can't quite remember. what-oh-what would i do without such dear people in my life?