A Zipdrive Mushatorial



God, I love my friends.
I used to be quite the social butterfly, going out all the damn time to see and be seen.
Back then, popularity really mattered to me. Now, I couldn't care less.
Being more of a hermit satisfies me now. I like my own company in my own little cocoon. I can go for days without seeing anyone.
My birthday is looming at the end of the month, and I realize at this time of year how grateful I am for my friends who've stepped forward and reached out to me.
My BigSis, whom you all know from the comments section, is probably my best friend.
She and her partner MySharona took it upon themselves to throw me a birthday party in Austin next weekend, and they've been buzzing around like crickets on meth with catering menus and plans to ensure a good time.
My pal Katie is flying out from San Diego to take me to dinner at the Tip Top Cafe on Thursday, the actual night of my birthday. Then we'll come back to my pad to watch Survivor. What bliss.
Tomorrow night, I'll be going to dinner with MiddleSis and her partner Big T. MiddleSis is sort of the Mother Teresa of the family, yet she tolerates me quite well for some reason.
Last night, my cousin from NYC was in town and a bunch of us went out for burgers and conversation. She and her sister, my other cousin, gave me a mess of lottery tickets that were worth $12! Along with them were their adult kids and their partners. Being with them all made me feel cozy and warm.

Recently, I decided to resurrect my efforts at writing a novel.
Though I am a professional journalist, I am by no means a creative writer so I sent out the first chapter to a handful of real-time and Internet friends for their critique.
Bless their hearts. Some gave me a lot of strokes and encouragement, while others really laid it on the line with suggestions on how I could improve my wobbly first attempt.
What I learned most was, it's great to have friends out there whom I can trust.
At my age, I've finally culled out a lot of rainy day friends and kept the ones I truly love.
I may not be on the phone with most of them--even on a monthly basis--but they know I care and I know they care.
If you watch the video of Bette Midler, you'll see former Harlottes Melissa Manchester and Katie Sagal. Though it had been ages since they performed behind Bette and they had their own successful careers by the time they appeared on this clip, they showed up to support their old friend.
My friends would do that for me, and they know I'd do that for them.
And in the end, that's what really matters in life--loving and being loved in return.
Right?