So happy together

As I mentioned recently, I've had the same best friend since Kindergarten. There are others I'd consider best friends now in addition, and of course several other best friends have come and gone through the years, but the bibliophile and I have pretty much been hanging tight since 1986. Now that I have a kid, I ponder the origins of our friendship a little more than I did in the past. I don't remember our meeting, but the bibliophile and her slightly freakishly good memory tell me that we were assigned as buddies by our teacher for playtime during the first week of school. We must've hit it off or expressed to our mothers in some way that we liked each other, and our mothers -- perhaps recognizing even then that their offspring were somewhat socially awkward and not destined to be the kind of kids who racked up dozens of friends easily -- clearly made an effort to get us together frequently enough that we became real friends and stayed that way, even after the bibliophile had to change schools after 2nd grade. It's probably more remarkable in that I don't think our moms really have all that much in common. They were always friendly to each other, but they were never friends. Perhaps it was growing up knowing each other from such an early age or perhaps we were just destined to become friends, but for whatever reason I do think the bibliophile and I have a lot in common.

My sister, she met her oldest friend when they were two years old. The friend in question lived less than a block away and somehow we met her at some point. Because they were two girls of the same age -- and probably in part because her only-child friend had some kickass toys -- they kept hanging out and kept hanging out and are friends to this day despite only going to the same school for one year in high school and having almost nothing in common. I don't think they see each other as often as the bibliophile and I see each other, but my sister accompanied her friend and her family to Florida on vacation just this past winter, so clearly they're still tight. Perhaps one day Nico will have an even more impressive early-age friend acquisition tale, since he has been acquainted with two of his buddies almost literally his entire life. Right now the lines between "Nico's friend" and "child of my friend" and "other only child of appropriate age whose mother I get along with" are pretty fuzzy. We're getting to a point where Nico seems excited to see his playmates, but they're not even to the point where they really play with each other rather than beside each other, so it's probably premature to really count them as his friends. Who knows, though…perhaps one of them will be like my sister's friend and invite Nico on vacation when they're in their twenties.

Friendship has been on my mind this week because the bibliophile got married this past Sunday and our whole extended gang of high school and college (and in one case middle-school) friends gathered for the occasion. Since several had made the trip from faraway lands, we milked it for all it was worth and it was awesome. MB and I hosted a game night on Friday, J Dog's dad and stepmom invited us all over for a cookout on Saturday, and then we had the reception on Sunday. I was shamefully lax at documenting my cute kid, but I think he had fun, too. I feel really good about him growing up surrounded by this incredible, random, funny, loving crew of friends who might as well be family. I have the best friends in the world, seriously. I feel so lucky to have all of them and as tiring as it was, this weekend was so fabulous.

Digging in the flowerbeds at the cookout, with the hostess's blessing.


Reading:  Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

Playing:  Songs of Anarchy