Two New Friends

I've been blessed with many good and true friends throughout my life.  This holiday season I want to express my gratitude for two new friends that have come into my life recently.  I met both in my group that I attend several times a week and feel like I've found a real connection with each of them.  The first is Jacque, who started the program at the same time I did so our journeys have been somewhat parallel.  We are both learning new things and various ways that we can cope with our depression and anxiety together.  She is Mormon which made me think initially that she wouldn't accept or approve of me being a gay man, but she proved me wrong.  She even got me a book that chronicles the journey of a gay Mormon in coming to terms with his orientation and how it related to his religious beliefs.  It was a great read and helped me to consider my own struggles with being gay and Christian.  We've gone to lunch on a couple of occasions and I even had the privilege of meeting one of her kids who was so sweet.  We text back and forth and find that we miss each other when one of us isn't able to attend group.  It's not quite the same when we aren't both there.  We have discovered that we both deal with medication resistant depression and have both tried numerous medications alone and in combinations.  We both struggle with identifying triggers and effectively using coping skills to overcome them.  Surprisingly enough, even though we come from completely different experiences and circumstances we have a lot in common.  It has been a blessing to me to hear her perspective on things and I'm learning that she is like me in that it is easier for her to empathize with and give advice to me than it is to do so with herself.  I'm the same way much of the time; I seem to have some insight and wisdom to share with others but often have difficulty exercising that same insight when it comes to myself.  It's nice that we now have each other to bounce things off of as it is a great help to me.

The second new friend I've made from group is Susan.  What an absolute light she has become in my life.  We seem to have very similar senses of humor and often share humorous memes and videos via text message.  When I'm feeling down I know that a simple text message to her will yield a conversation that makes me laugh.  She was so kind to offer to help me do some unpacking at my apartment and she made a very stressful experience much easier and more fun to deal with.  She really should be a professional organizer as she genuinely has a talent for and seems to enjoy it very much.  As hard as it was for me to get through, we certainly did have a great time doing it.  She saw a side of me through photos and artifacts that I don't share with too many people and she surprised me by being completely open and accepting of me, warts and all as they say.  Who knew someone could be bribed so wittingly with mere pizza?  Yesterday was a sad day in group because it was her last day; she graduated with honors and is off to other adventures.  We vowed to keep in touch and get together to hang out periodically and I look forward to that very much.  She's getting ready to have her tonsils out which, as an adult, is a very difficult and painful thing from what I've heard.  My heart goes out to her as she has that done and recovers with lots of ice cream, pudding and popsicles.  I'll have to dig deep to find especially funny memes and such to keep her entertained during her recuperation.  This is the time of year many people take stock of their lives and reflect on the year gone by.  We recognize and cherish family and friends, new and old.  These two lovely women have offered and given their friendship to me so freely and openly; I cherish them both so much and count them as two of my good friends.  Life is certainly better with true friends and my life has been enhanced beyond measure with these two strong women in it!