I get by with a little help from my friends

I can list the things in my life that frustrate the hell out of me (read: financial stress, being chronically single, never-ending piles of laundry...you get the point), but one thing I've always been able to count on is my friend-support structure.  No, it's not always perfect.  It's not always rainbows and butterflies, but as I've grown I now realize I have a handful of close, personal friends.  Friends I can call at a moments notice, and if one doesn't answer I keep going down my mental list until one does.  The very few times a friend doesn't answer, I calm myself down because I feel in my heart of hearts nobody is available for a reason; that reason being I need to step back and do personal self reflection.

Yesterday was one of those days when I really needed a friend.  Sure, I sat down and spewed my scattered thoughts and feelings out here...but jotting them down on my little corner of the interwebs didn't feel like it was enough.  I felt as if my own mind was haunting me, so I began reaching out.  My first few cries for help weren't heard, so I reached out to my longtime childhood friend.  She's amazing.  I didn't need to beg her to hear me out, all I said was I was in dire need of some girl talk so if she had some time in the next couple of days that would be awesome.  Her response?  I'm free tonight and would love to stop by (I almost started crying then and there).

Not only did she sketch out time in her night; she came with a bottle of wine.  She sat, listened to the entire story (it was the first I had opened up to her about it).  She was fair, honest, non-judgmental, and exactly everything I needed. 

Friends truly are the family you get to choose...but in some cases, I feel as if the powers that be placed some truly amazing people in my life.  I hope we get to see each other grow old, and look forward to sharing countless new memories with them.  I also feel lucky in the wake of the "ick" I had been consumed with, for not everyone can say that despite the business of life they have true friends they can rely on for emotional support.