Anniversary
I have been home for one year. A lot has happened but it all comes back to this.
The people I spent a year with.. even the ones I generally dislike still hold an interest to me. Even though we have moved on with our lives we all end up coming back to this one place. The moment we all realized what it means to trust in someone else for your life. So, we leave and can't seem to let go of that moment and the people we shared it with.
At first I thought it was just me but I found out it's not. We stay in contact via phone, e-mail and letters but we all come back to that one moment and understand another dimension of friendship and family. When we get together we talk as any day we talked in Baghdad. We share experiences and fill each other in on our lives like nothing has changed. I have never felt that feeling of comfort amongst a group of people in my entire life. I have a few select friends who I feel that way when I am around and that is comforting.
I guess I am just overwhelmed because I realized that no matter how far away you go you still come back to that feeling. Last year I went for a walk in San Diego with a good friend of mine. She gently clutched my inner arm and I escorted her as we got some fresh air. We talked and made merry as if nothing had changed and we had had spent lots of time together. In reality this was the 3rd time I had ever spent any time with her in the last 5 years. It's the shared experiences and moments of true communication that brought us to that point of joy and comfort.
To me a friend is anyone who I would devote personal time and resources too. Someone who makes me happy whenever I am with them. Someone I trust with my feelings, thoughts, and in some cases my life. For those of us who have little family left friends are our family. So here is my question. What does friend mean to you?
I have been making some entries but mainly on my friends list. I have not been in the most social mood as of late and it shows.