Thankful

Today I'm thankful for good friends...you know, the ones who will respond to your bad news by saying, "Let's get together...tonight...we mean it."

The kind of friends who will listen if you want to talk about it, but can also tell when you don't really want to talk about it and just want to be in the company of people whose lives of joy can draw you, if only briefly, out of the gloomy cloud in which you sit.

Friends who know that you love Fat Tire and 1554 and offer to share the big bottle with you because they know that you're a slow drinker and the beer would probably get warm before you finish it.

Friends who offer to split as many appetizers as it takes for you to not be hungry because you went for a run and didn't have time to eat, and because there's a pit in your stomach the size of Cleveland.

Friends who will still give you a hard time and treat you like a real person, even though they know that you're feeling fragile and hurt and confused and overwhelmed.

Friends who invite you to come over and watch movies so you don't have to be alone with your thoughts.

Yeah, I'm thankful for friends like that today.