Friendship

First, let me formally introduce myself. I use the handle Disaster Chick because I'm in the disaster business. Technically I'm in Emergency Management so I plan for and coordinate disaster response. With the storm season upon us I recommend going to http://www.ready.gov/ for ideas on how to better protect yourself and your family. One boss told me in this business you have to be a mile wide and an inch deep with knowledge. This seems to be a thread in my life.

I've noticed that Doc seem to accumulate friends from everywhere. I "met" him though the currency tracking program, Where's George? Yes, I'm one of those people that mark my money. I've even gone to "Gatherings" and met other Georgers, but I've yet to meet Doc in person.

I've kicked around what I was going to write about and one idea was a tribute to beer since I had a couple last night. Then I was thinking about topics such as songs/music, forgiveness, and introverts/extroverts. Now my mind is leading me the topic of friendship.

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~ Elisabeth Foley

Who is your best friend - outside of your significant other (if you have one)? Who really knows you?

My best friend would have to be my mom. It's been just the two of us since my dad died when I was 8. I was reading an article by a single gal called "My Significant Mother" in either Glamour or Marie Claire a few months ago that stuck with me. It was about how she doesn't feel the need to find a significant other because she always has someone to do things with - her mother. You share genetic material and usually enjoy many of the same things. Most guys are not going to willingly go to a ballet, chick flick. play, opera, etc., however, her mother is willing to go and have a good time.

I went to 7 different schools between K-12. In 1st Grade I went to three different schools an each teacher was Mrs. H. I thought that was a requirement to teach 1st Grade. The majority of the friends I have acquired came from 1 of the 2 schools which I attended from 3rd to 9.5 and then 9.5 to Graduation. Most I have not seen in years - and Facebook has been great for re-establishing connections. (Found out several guys had crushes on me - why didn't I see that then?) I don't think my classmates knew me very well because I was the kid that sat in the back always reading in my free time. Yet, my high school friends seem to be the ones I'm the closest to - maybe because they were there in the formative years.

For awhile my best friend was one that we had been friends since I was 10 months old and he was born. I think he was born because I was such a cute and good baby. Our friendship changed when he got married, because his wife doesn't seem to like me. His brothers say she doesn't seem like anyone. In many ways I feel bad because his entire family including parents, brothers, grandma, uncles, aunts, and cousins have said to me that "Luke should have married you." If she had overheard this I can see why she doesn't like me. I've backed off because I don't want to cause problems. They have been married for 8 years now so I hope I'm not seen as a threat anymore. I rarely see them know.

Back to being a mile wide and an inch deep - I have a wide variety of interests and will try just about anything once, and always taking ideas on new things to try and adventures to experience. Last year I went skydiving and got my motorcycle license. The previous year I got my open water certification to go SCUBA diving. I'm an extrovert with introverted tendencies and I blame that on being an only child, but maybe I'm balanced. I've always had friends that didn't like each other. It seems like I'm a giant puzzle where different friends hold a different piece and a few may hold several pieces - yet the only one that sees the picture on the front of the box is my significant mother. One day I hope that I have a significant other that will take the time to discover the picture on the front of the box.