Today, I hung out with my best friend. We haven’t connected in person in awhile as things have been busy for us both, winter is always hard and in all honesty, I didn’t want to spread the respiratory illness I have been combatting for the last four weeks. It was through no fault of our own, but rather the regular parts of everyday life. We have not seen each other in person for awhile, and that was okay. Our time in person comes in waves and although it doesn’t change our relationship, it makes it more meaningful when we are able to connect face to face.

Today, I hung out with my best friend. We sat on my couch and spent hours just talking, catching each other up on our lives, on our families and how we have been doing. We drank our hot drinks, socialized and cross-stitched (or embroidered) while we did it. I wore my pajamas and had greasy hair. She was in sweatpants and didn’t put on any makeup. We were able to just be ourselves and I knew that when she got up to use the bathroom, she was not going to judge me for the hair in the sink or the dirt along the bottom of the shower. She is my best friend and therefore she knows me at my best, and at my worst. She doesn’t judge, criticize or call me down, which is exactly what I need sometimes. She even brought an unexpected gift!

Today, I hung out with my best friend. After she left, I felt nothing but gratitude, This is the friend (and her spouse) who allowed me to stay with them when my marriage was breaking down. This is the friend who highlighted that I needed to be treated better by those who say they love me, and how I treat myself as well. She has literally seen me at my worst, but she has also seen me at my best as well. I am grateful for her as she is one of the few people in my life who make sure I stay honest, and will directly, and compassionately, call me on my shit when I am doing things that are hurtful. She is one of the most important people in my life, and every time we spend time together I am reminded, and grateful for that.

I hung out with my best friend today. A person who has shown me the true value of a friendship that is filled with honesty, ownership and equal effort from both parties. She is a person who supports me as I figure things out and will caution me when making decisions that may not be good for me. I do the same for her. She is a sounding board, an asset and a woman with a wealth of knowledge that she doesn’t even realize she has. I have never met someone with so much compassion, resiliency and strength then I see in this friend. It is crazy to think how a mutual place of employment turned into a lifetime of friendship.

I hung out with the my best friend today. And I can only hope that you, the reader, are as fortunate as I am to have such a friend.

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”

– Walter Winchell