Grateful

Grateful.

You won't find me saying it very often, little on in print, but when I left the apartment that night, I was grateful that I'm not married.

Now--not for some weird dirty reason, get your minds out of the gutter, but for friendship's sake. These boys, along with the brothers that weren't there, are like my little brothers.

Don't get me wrong. My debate kids are also special to me, but I don't see them that often anymore. I'm proud of them and can't wait to see what good things come their ways.

The Netsch boys (the two on the right, plus 2 more in Dallas) and the Land boys (the one on the left plus another one in ohio) are bonus brothers. They make me laugh, they make me cry. They make me almost shoot tea out of my nose. They are the reason I drove 4 hours to eat dinner. They are such a big part of my heart and I am grateful to have them in my life, even if it is just for short periods of time. I don't think they realize how important their calls are, or how much I look forward to seeing how their lives are going.

After dinner that night I headed back to my hotel...thank God I booked one after seeing what that apartment looked like...and thought I was going to cry. It happens sometimes. I just get emotional. Maybe it was driving on I-35. All I could think about is that if I had been married when I lived in Dallas I never would have had the relationship that I have with them. I probably wouldn't have gone to all of their games and met their families. I wouldn't miss them now. That feeling of missing them is pretty special too. They give me crap, constantly. And in that junior high make fun of you way, I know they love me too.

Thank you, you little pains in the butt for loving me back and telling me so in your own special ways. See you soon.