Tonight--the third of January, 2006--friendships claimed their rightful place as the most joyful part of my life. Truthfully, I should reflect more often on the quality and significance of my friends. What greater gift has been given on this earth? Romantic love is in a category of its own; but what is romantic love if not the pairing of deep friendship and its physical expression?
Tonight, however, I give thanks for platonic friendships. The fine gentlemen with whom I shared this evening have been close since our sixteenth birthdays arrived with their promise of first-car freedom. High school served us with the formative years of our friendships. We waded through the endless bouts of high school drama, and we shared the savory taste of intramural glory. And we'll never forget our forays into petty vandalism. Since high school--heartbreaks, victories, changes--we've shared them all. In my understanding, our group is an anomaly. Very few of my college friends (and dear friends they are) share a similar treasure. Each semester ends; I pack up and head home. And home is a blessing--I am insatiably indebted to my ever-loving family--but how many of my college friends cant wait to see there high school buddies? So after enjoying my family's company, my mind turns to the reunion of "the boys."
As I have often said, there is no place I would rather be than at the lakehouse, with the boys, on the dock, smoking a cigar, (having a beer...helllooo 21)--talking about life, love, God, and the meaning of life. Sound cliche? Come sometime. Its not. There is no room for cliche. Either the dock is too small, or we are too tight.
Winding roads hide the lake and disconnect it from the outside world. Being in each other's company sheds any pressures or strains. All pretense is lost as we tell the same stories, and occasionally stumble into a new one. Its the comfort of these friends that yields real laughter--the kind from way down inside--the kind that shakes the dock and sends ripples out over the lake. What joy there is in friendship!
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3 comments:
I'll raise an ice cold Miller Light to that! Luke as always you beautifully encapsulate truth. What you write, I will always read, and hopefully we will talk soon.
You have been blessed with a gift of communication for which you can pass your feelings and emotions on to paper unlike anyone that I have encountered. You have always been able to bring a tear to my eye expecailly when you speak so passionatly about our group. I am blessed to call you a friend (although your advice seems to be one in which i typically do not want to hear but is usually what I need to hear). Let your life be blessed as much as mine has been by having you apart of it. I will raise a glass to that toast to our group and our lives and our endouring friendships the rest of our lives.
Amen to "an Ode to Friendship", cousin! This is the first time I've read your blog thing-a-ma-bob and I think you nailed it on the head. Thanks.
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