lucky me

I've known for a long time that i was blessed. How could I not believe that? I have met & made friends with so many amazing people. Not all of them are meant to be life long friends but I really do learn so much from each one and value the impact each one has had on my life.

I haven't written about this yet because my blog was supposed to be funny. But with each funny story I'm learning more and more about what I really want out of a relationship. My last relationship ended in March 2009. It was a mutual breakup but what I wasn't sure about was how to handle the mutual friends. They are some of the best people I've met & I didn't want to loose them to picking sides. So I continued to hang out with Ex's best friend's wife fairly regularly, we'll call her Handbag, determined not to loose the friendship I had made. I had not, on the other hand, seen Handbag's husband since march.

I've known HB's husband for years, much longer than I've known Ex. I knew that our friendship would outlast breakup drama, even if the Ex was his best friend but until tonight, wasn't 100% sure of that.

Tonight, was Handbag's 30'th birthday party. This would be the first time I will have seen the "Ex" gang together since march. Was ex going to be there? Not sure. I made a choice to go and celebrate with my friends & not ask questions about who else would be there. It was Handbag's 30th and I wasn't going to miss it. But I have to be honest, I was nervous. I got there 10 minutes early and bought myself a little champagne courage.

When everyone arrived, I was lovingly greeted by Handbag & her husband with BIG hugs. The party consisted of Ex's 2 best friends, their wives and Handbag's closest friends (no ex). I was touched by Mr. Handbag's gesture when he said "Hools, come sit next to me". I'm sure he doesn't know how meaningful that gesture was to me.

The dinner was lovely - we laughed, ate and I was happy to be there. We rounded out the evening at a friend's condo playing games and drinking champagne. Again, I always knew my friendships would outlast breakup drama, but I really believed it tonight - laughing with friends like old times with no evidence of ex-drama. It was a great night.

We all packed up to leave for the night and Mr Handbag left me with a simple "you're my friend". Honestly, no words could have been better. For the first time, I actually saw a future where the gang was all hanging out just as it was pre-ex (not pre-breakup, pre-ex entirely) with no feelings by me that I didn't belong there anymore. Thanks to the small gestures of Handbag & her husband, I'm reminded that I am so blessed with great friends and eventually I will find that kind of love in a relationship. I'm certain of it.