friends

have you ever met someone that you thought would be a fabulous person to hang out with? recently i've been thinking a lot about friendship in adulthood. it's one of those things that no one ever told you about or warned you about. up until now every friend has a pretty solid grouping: there are the "grew up together friends," the "went to college together friends (aka got really drunk together friends)," the "portland" friends. and now, i suppose i have my "expat friends." i find myself super blessed because many of my friends (YOU) actually fit into a few of those categories.
so, a little bit more about these "expat friends..."
at this stage in my life i'm suprised at how many people i find myself having a [very platonic] crush on. people who i wish i could be friends with, but really it'd just never work out. instead we pass each other at parties and make the common small talk. They become the "Haven't seen you in ages friends" or the "We ReALLY should hang out sometime friends."

then there are the friends that you'd never, in a million years, think that you would be hanging out with, let's call them the "isn't this funny friends?"and then i also have the "omg, thank god you're here too friends"

friends are truly the vein of my existence (i don't think lays potato chips count here). they've supported me here and in all the steps of getting here beyond what you could ever formulaically produce in some "how to" book. they showed me that no specific friend or friends, especially at this stage in the game, are the end all be all, but together they make up part of that bigger picture, the feeling at the end of the day that you are loved and for lack of better way to say it, that people like you. can you tell i'm nostalgic?

i just spent a fabulous weekend with friends doing random "just friends". i'm truly blessed to be surrounded by such good people this holiday season!