Friends

Of all the things that are not perfect in my life, I am very grateful for my family and friends. Many of you are familiar with the saying, "Friends are the family you choose for yourself."

All of my immediate family is Ft. Worth. I have oodles and oodles of relatives in the Fort Worth-Dallas area as well as a pocket of family in Kansas City, Missouri AND Kansas; both sides of the river. (Question: How does one decide which Kansas City to live in?)

So when I moved to Houston, I moved here not knowing anyone. I left behind a very good circle of friends in Ft. Worth. For me, Houston was a tough town to break into. As time went on, I made friends here and while some of us have drifted, I know that there is always a group of people I can count on.

Oprah once asked, "Who are you without your memories?" and to that I would add, "...and without your friends?"

Last night, I met up with a longtime friend who now lives in Calgary, Canada. We met for some stunning repartee, fellowship and adult beverages, followed by Tex-Mex food. Another friend joined us and then I invited two other friends. I'm a big believer in blending relationships.

So here is a photo of us all together.

After partaking of the stunning repartee, fellowship and adult beverages, three of us went for Tex-Mex food and the other two met up with some other friends. All in all it was a GREAT evening.

I think too many times, we all get caught up in our own little world and forget to take time to just sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with a friend...or we don't take the time to pick up the phone and have a chat.

I know. In this age of instant communication, it is easier to send a text message or an email or do an update status on facebook. Call me Guilty!

So unbeknown to me, one of the readings for Mass (in the Catholic Church) this weekend is about laying down your life for a friend. (In case you're wondering, I went to Mass tonight to fulfill my Sunday obligation so that is how I know about the readings.) Now, I'm hoping that you really don't have to lay down your life for a friend but what WOULD you do for friend? If there are strings attached, is it really a friendship? Just askin'.

So, I'm gonna suggest that you make an effort to get in touch with a friend and not via email or text message or facebook...and just check-in. And I will leave you with one of my all time favorite Pet Shop Boys songs (...cause we were never being boring. We had too much time to find for ourselves. And we were never being boring. We dressed up and fought, then thought: make amends. And we were never holding back or worried that time would come to an end. We were always hoping that, looking back you could always rely on a friend.) Click here to view the video.