B.Y.O.F.

I have a good amount of friends. I consider this a huge blessing and one that I'm quite sure I don't always deserve. More and more as I get older, I'm surrounded by good people. People of all different backgrounds and beliefs influence and support me. I like to believe I choose them but most the time, I just get caught up in feeling lucky that they chose me.

This is especially true with one of my friends, Jill. Jill is magnetic. That's the only way to describe her. She's cute without being intimidating, honest without being brash. She can talk to anyone and more importantly, she will make you feel like she wants to talk to you, what you have to say is the most important information she's ever heard. Jill is delightful, hilarious and understanding at all the right times. She's one of those people that if given the chance to wrap her mind around something, you can consider it done. She just makes it work and I have no idea how.

Jill is also my best running buddy, which means she and I talk quite a lot- what else is there to do on a long run? She listens to me like you'd expect any good friend to but she's also really good about not letting me dwell on anything I can't control. She makes sense of my trials and tribulations and by the next mile, we've moved on. Once, when we were talking about relationships, I asked her if she thought I'd always be single. "No! Of course not," she said. "If you were ugly or a freak, that would be one thing but you're not, so don't worry." And then she changed the subject. It's not that she doesn't think life should be examined, just not over examined, which is one of my favorite ways to pass the time.

A few days ago, Jill and I were invited to the same party. We'd scheduled to arrive at the same time so that we could have a chance to see each other and catch up- we're both busy and with me not running lately, our time together has been scarce. Neither of us knew anyone very well at this party so it was more of an appearance and an excuse to hang out together.

We arrived, greeted the hosts, found ourselves some drinks and sat down to catch up. Within twenty minutes, several people had stopped by to say 'hi.' These were people neither Jill nor I knew but somehow, they felt the need to come over. I guess there is some power to two women in dresses keeping to themselves. Anyhow, it was nice to chat and meet new people but once Jill and I get talking, there's no end. So, we attempt to exercise our manners and involve the visitors in the conversation but we carried on. It didn't work for long.

Soon, people were gathering. It's that magnetic Jill. We're telling jokes and stories and shaking hands and before you know it, we are not at the party, we are the party. It was fun and since Jill is married, I get all the single guy deflection. No complaints here. But sometimes, maybe because I'm selfish or maybe just because I'm a girl, I just want to hang out with my friend.

Goodbye took quite a while due to all our new-found friends but we finally made it to the door. I said my thanks and nice to meet yous but what I really wanted to say was next time, bring your own cool friend! This one, thank you very much, is mine.