Large Alcoholic Beverage Anyone?

What a ride…

I’ve had a Dr. Seuss kind of day. Not the sweet and innocent, ‘…And I Saw It On Mulberry Street’ sort, either. More like the Lorax, mixed in with a little Amy Tan.

My stepfather and I have not spoken in a while—and even then, not a normal, light-hearted conversation for many, many moons. Long story compressed into one tiny sentence: I went through a few sessions of therapy whereas I was told to listen to my conscious and stay away from him for as long as I felt like it.

I have been feeling like it for some time now, and still do. Yet there he stood, on the other side of my front door, unannounced and inconvenient. A friend of mine and I were in the middle of watching ‘Broke Back Mountain’ (which I found VERY well acted, though some parts left me in a puddle of disbelief. Still other parts just left me in a puddle, though. Very moving story.)

ANYWAY.

Yeah, so I think I handled it well. There was no yelling. There was no knife throwing, nor were there any self-esteem-shredding innuendos. He’d come to see a piece of tax information that the government had sent to my home about his house up here. There were no harsh words or crass statements. He said I look well, which I do at times. I said he did as well, and he did, although he looked older, and a little more tired. He said the turtle was getting bigger, and I agreed. There was even a hug.

I know I should be happy about it on some level—especially since it went so well, but for the life of me I couldn’t get over the fact that he’d just SHOWN up on the doorstep. It’s not cool, not after the extended silence between us. But I think he was just …

Wanting to see me again. It didn’t make me overly angry. I was grateful that I had a reason to not visit with him for any length of time, telling him that I was in the middle of the movie, etc. and I just had to find out if Heath and that ‘other cute guy’ lived Happily Ever After or not. He left as graciously as I could have hoped.

My friends save my life all the time—even unconsciously. They all have, at one point or another, been in the right place at the right time to save me from suffering from severe heartbreak. My lack of family ties has shown me the value of creating family in friendships. I am blessed with the ability to see this, I’m certain of it. And even further blessed by their stalwart appearances in my life.

I mean, you get to pick your friends, you know? And they very rarely stop by without calling first. And they almost NEVER make you feel bad about your life/marriage/decisions. Unless you need to feel bad about them, of course, but usually they stand by you and cheer for your efforts. And they almost NEVER throw knives at you.

Even now, as I write this, I know that this late at night, you’re listening, even if you don’t hear me fully until tomorrow morning. Thanks for that.

Sleep well to you all…