I Like My Friends

I have friends. I sometimes forget that this is the case. I also forget just how wonderful--how encouraging and affirming--it is to be around people I love and who love me; not just family, whom I also love and care about deeply, but people I choose to be around, with whom I have much in common.

It had been a while since I'd seen any of my friends. I hadn't made a trip up to the Azusa area since before leaving for France and, to be honest, I was a little nervous about seeing these people again. I had been away from that crowd for several months and a lot had happened in between. I know that I, at least, had changed. I worried that social interactions might be awkward, strained.

But, oh, I need not have suffered concern! My friends are wonderful people: hospitable, generous, easy to be around. It's no wonder that they became my friends in the first place! I am an introvert; being around people is seldom as easy as being on my own. But there is something revitalizing about being around these people. I'm up here for two nights. I considered not making the drive. But I'm so glad I did.