B+ (Day Five)

So, what am I going to enthuse about today?

You!

No, not the person reading over your shoulder. You. Chances are if you’re reading this you’re a friend of mine. And, quite frankly, I don’t give my friends enough credit. Oh, there may be times you irritate me, but there are also many times you cheer me up, make me think, make me smile, give me reinforcement, inspire me, expose possibilities, give me a shoulder to cry on, or just give me a touch of human contact when it matters.

Unfortunately, I dwell far too much on the former and not nearly enough on the latter. I’m sorry for that. I should know better. I’m not one who finds it that easy to make friends, so you’d think I’d be more grateful for the ones I have. I’ve got a lot to make up for, but consider this the first installment. I’m glad for my friends.

Friends like Kim, who for some reason still likes me after all our debates in which I let my Jerk Flag fly.

Or like Brooke, whose accomplishments in choosing a new direction inspire me and remind me to be grateful for what I have.

To Angel, who really deserves more breaks than she’s getting, but somehow manages to keep going thanks to steampunk, a sense of humor, and gratuitous cat pictures.

To so many of you who keep me from living in an echo chamber, as tempting as that may be at times.

Like Nathaniel, who keeps up a steady supply of quirky humor pics that remind me that life should be more fun than I make it.

Or the many friends I’ve not actually met yet, but give me hope that some day I will.

Or like Bill, who is probably a better friend than I deserve, except for when he’s being the friend I deserve.

Like my many friends whose slice-of-life posts remind me what’s most important in life and not to ignore mine.

Please don’t be offended if I haven’t named you yet. I will try to do so in the future, but rest assured you fit into one of these categories, even if I named someone else as an example. All of your have touched my life in some way and make me a better person–and make me feel that, judging by my friends, I must be a fairly decent fellow.

Or, to borrow one of my favorite quotes from Tolkien, “I know more than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

Thanks for being my friends.