random musings on my best friend

So I calmly sit while my best friend runs around in his usual packing frenzy. It is his ritual - and I am calm. For some reason, I always find his ritual calming. We all have them - you know you do - the rituals we have to deal with packing for any trip. I think the ritual grows exponentially in terms of time, complexity, and degree of frenzy based on how far and how long you travel. Bearing that in mine, tonight is topping out - exponentially speaking.

I am sad he is leaving, although I know he will be back. We have not seen much of one another since I returned. He has been drowning in reading and writing assignments for graduate degree program. (I would almost swear he is doing more work than I did in law school - almost.) He sat by while I took three years to make one of my life's dreams come true. He was always full of encouragement and always full of pride. I've never known someone to believe in me so fully, so completely, and without any expectations of anything in return. I never even knew a man could be that way. I've never known any other to be that way.



So, I sit here. Writing about him. Proud of him and his accomplishments, sitting on the side and cheering him on, and without any expectations of anything in return.

It's a great thing to get to that point in a friendship. We've known one another for 16 years now - and that is a long time. We have both changed a lot. For better and for worse, no doubt. Inhibitions have gone and sometimes, just sometimes, I think we are too comfortable in front of one another. At least we can be amused by that… and we always are. Isn't that how it should be with your best friend after all?