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surprise:

a post from mdog!

the other surprise of the weekend came in the form of a party. [woohoo, party!] a secret birthday gathering was in the works for a friend of mine, but unbeknownst to me, my upcoming birthday was also being included in the planning.

sneaky.

bloggingpaul was a little late, and he also ended up doing a good job of scaring away the children. but i guess we'll show some grace there. really though, it was a good time... food, drink, friends and fun, all in large doses. i feel very loved tonight.

lots of things converging in my head right now. kt's discussion on the meaning of home; a friend at the party tonight reflecting on the people in that room; me thinking about dear ones in my life, people i do life with, people with whom i feel at peace.

the town i live in is pretty transient. people come and go in the blink of an eye. this sounds fun at first -- a novelty of newcomers! -- but after a while you start to realize just how hard it is. some days i want to say the hell with it and refuse to befriend anyone new because they're just going to end up leaving anyway, right? but other days -- most days -- i think otherwise. because this is where life happens. the excitement of new relationship, the mutual growth, the inevitable parting, and everything inbetween... sometimes this is a long process, one that grows deep roots; sometimes it is a short turnaround. sometimes people move away and you find a bond that continues to grow strong; sometimes they are rediscovered years later and you find they reflourish.

in most cases i find that you have no idea what route things will take upon the first meeting of a friend. but i know they won't go anywhere unless you start.

i think about the dear ones in my life -- so close that i can't really remember what life was like before they entered the picture -- and i am so thankful i took that risk. and i think about the others in my life, and those i will meet in the future, and i wonder how many more i will be able to hold that close. and i am overwhelmed.

Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 01:53AM by Registered Commentermdog | Comments7 Comments

Reader Comments (7)

Sounds like a wonderful time was had! Cool.
Happy early birthday!!!!
May 14, 2006 at 03:27PM | Unregistered Commenterhappyhearn
It is amazing how we are so changed by letting others into our lives.

In the last few very formative years of my life I have been so shaped, stretched, challenged, and encouraged by others that I feel I have changed so much that it is impossible to verbalize to someone who has not been there with me.

I was thinking the other day how it is so interesting how those who are close to us leave their handprint on our lives when we take up their interests and come to appreciate their different perspectives.

...And how amazing it is when we find that rare person with interests and perspectives so like our own that there is an incredible comfort of mutual understanding and freedom to be ourselves.
May 14, 2006 at 10:29PM | Unregistered Commenterkt
yes, happy early birthday! :)
May 15, 2006 at 09:04AM | Unregistered Commentermar
I love early birthday celebrations because that means you get two. And what a gift of refection you gave yourself.
May 15, 2006 at 03:42PM | Unregistered CommenterTB
kt - well put. i am often at a loss at answering the simple question, "how have you been?" when talking with people i don't come into contact with as often as i would like. if you've walked with me, you know... and if you haven't, well, nothing i can say could really do my personal growth any justice.

...and, yes. that comfort and freedom is amazing. breathtaking, actually.


tb - no kidding! i need to plan Birthday 2.0. :)
May 15, 2006 at 05:43PM | Registered Commentermdog
You know... when you came over to write my auto-responder, we should have had cake. Wasn't Sunday your actual birthday? And I missed it... Well... I didn't but I should have had cake.

Or cookies.

I hear you bake them... according to KT
May 16, 2006 at 05:23PM | Unregistered Commenterblogging paul
my actual birthday IS on a sunday... but you didn't miss it. yet.
May 16, 2006 at 05:32PM | Registered Commentermdog

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