Thank you for being a friend...

I'm truly blessed with the all the different, the strong, the new, and the ongoing friendships I have in my life.  

There are the old - where we can pick up right where we left off - whether that was 5 years ago or 15.

There are the constant - that no matter what state or country I'm in - we stay connected.

There are the new - that treat me as if we've known each other for decades.

And there are the unexpected. When in times of hurt or happiness - you appear.  Either through travels, or through old or lost connections - an unexpected bond forms.

Just plain and simply. Thank you for being a friend.

And we all know it's not always so simple...so:

Thank you for not nodding along with me.
Thank you for getting in my way.
Thank you for stabbing me in the front.
Thank you for knowing all about me, and still liking me.
Thank you for answering my texts/calls at 4 in the morning.
Thank you for walking in.
Thank you for being able to sit and do nothing alongside me.
Thank you for knowing just what I need without asking.
Thank you for being the finest balm.
Thank you for showing love in trouble and happiness alike.
Thank you for taking the bus with me.

Thank you for always believing in me, rooting for me, taking my side, and standing up for me. No matter what.

But most of all - Thank you for being my greatest possession as well as my best measure of worth.

I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. 
~ Plutarch

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. 
 ~Arnold H. Glasow

True friends stab you in the front. 
~Oscar Wilde

The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you. 
~Elbert Hubbard

It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. 
~Marlene Dietrich

A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. 
~Walter Winchell 

The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple? 
~Eugene Kennedy

When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. 
~E.W. Howe 

Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. 
~Jane Austen

Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness. 
~Euripides

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. 
~Oprah Winfrey

A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth. 
~Charles Darwin

Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship. 
~Epicurus

Muchas Gracias from Costa Rica, and wherever my life may take me!