A Good Friend Reminds You that you are Human
After a week of phone tag, I finally got a few minutes this weekend to talk to one of my best friends. We’ve been through a lot together, even surviving a brief dating period. She’s one of the few people in this world that I confide to with the things going on in my head. Growing up a shy artist trapped in an alpha male group of friends, she was the first person to compliment my photography, which was the first step in making me believe in my creative abilities. She also introduced me to coffee shops and kissing, which as many of you know, are two things that I do best (see what I did there).
Yesterday I told her that I think I’m finally slowing down. After a year that involved losing my father, selling my house, and seeing my mom move far away, things were finally starting to hit me. I’d been handling this year with a constant positive attitude that I honestly didn’t know I had in me. But in the last few weeks, I started to see my attitude change. I battled a nasty case of the flu, horrible work assignments, and the natural depression brought on by Day Light Savings Time. Normal years would have me getting away from LA and recharging back at home for a week. But just recently I realized that there really was no home to go back to. Wherever I was at, and however I was feeling at the time, was my new home. Things weren’t looking good.
So after confessing my thoughts, my friend told me she was wondering when this was going to happen. She had witnessed me from day one handling my new life, and had cautiously admired my positive attitude and determination to move forward. But she worried that I would eventually burn out and yesterday she reminded me that it’s natural to need a little break.
I know my friend was just being thoughtful and looking out for me. She was just reminding me that it’s normal to feel tired and that I shouldn’t be ashamed if I slowed down. That’s what a good friend does; they remind you that you are human. They remind you that you have ups and downs, they remind you that it’s OK to be sad, and most importantly, they remind you that they love you.
What my friend didn’t realize at the time was that she was providing me the break that I needed. Hearing her concern for me was all I needed to get me out of my mini funk. I’m not going to take a break. I’m not going to feel bad for myself. If anything this year has taught me it’s that life is a really wild and potentially short adventure. Everyday is a blessing and you better start living. I want to go full speed at full happiness until the end. I plan on collapsing at the Pearly Gates, looking up and asking, “So how’d I do?”
Once again my friend made me realize that there was something inside me that I didn’t know I had. I’m not normal. I don’t have the part in my brain that tells me that things are bad. Things are always good. There are no bad days, only tough days. I was just having a few tough days in a row, and my good friend reminded me of that. Now I can go back to my happy normal life; which is my new home.
