A thought on friendships,

I was very wary of coming home this year.

However, my Thursday night changed that for me.

Thursday night was spent in the company of three of my closest female friends. These are friends which do not need to be tended to all year long. These are friends who are growing closer and closer as the years go by. These are friends who I always turn to when I begin to lose myself. They can always remind me of who I am.

It's a fascinating pattern. We all move in separate directions for months at a time. Some of us battle the wintry winds of Western New York. Some of us spend their winters in flip-flops. Some of us stay here, waiting for the lost to return.

But inevitably, when our foot steps are all retread and we come back to the island. It all just fits.

Our friendships were hard. Sometimes we didn't all like each other, and sometimes it took a damn lot of work to make them happen. But now we are older, and time seems to have blessed us.

We have something valuable. It is so valuable that sometimes I can forget how much it means.

We have history together. We have grown and changed. As we watched each other change we would always shove over and make room for whatever was necessary. We have stuck by each other's sides and now we can look back with joy.

I love the blonde's from Staten Island I choose to spend my time with. I love how I can sit in a kitchen and talk to their parents just as easily as I can talk to them...

So now, yes, I am finally ready to start my summer.