They say "a picture is worth a thousand words." I wonder how many words this one is worth...There aren't too many things pertaining to myself that I'm overly "proud of", per se, but one of the things that I do take a certain amount of pride in can be found in this snapshot. The fact that I'm dancing with not one but two lovely ladies on my 25th birthday this past weekend? No... The fact that the lovely ladies with whom I'm dancing just happen to be the very two women in my life that I've dated for periods of two years and three months? Yes.
Indeed, I'm simply overjoyed that I've been able to maintain close friendships with both Raechyl (left, May '03-Sep. '05) and Lisa Marie (right, Mar. '06-Jun. '08). Far too often I see friends on bitter and nasty terms with their ex's, often on a 'non-speaking' status. Such is not the case with these girls and me. I think the great respect we still hold for each other is truly a statement of how much we respected each other when we were together, which is very likely why things ended so well in both cases. It is for precisely this reason that referring to them as "ex's" often makes me cringe; "good friends (who I once dated)" would be the preferred label.
It also says quite a bit about the character of both women. I mean, the fact that they even showed up for their ex-boyfriend's birthday is pretty cool. That they then went out of their way to be cordial and make friends with each other is downright awesome. And the fact that they then proceeded to throw any potential awkwardness out the window and sandwich him on the dancefloor for fun is beyond-words amazing. It isn't difficult to see that these are two remarkable and exceptionally mature people who I'm very lucky to have in my life.
Several people in attendance got a good laugh out of this, and rightfully so - it sure ain't something you see every day, right? But, fortunately, in my case it is something I see every day: for the past 14+ years I've been blessed to have a mother, father and stepfather who have the utmost respect for one another and have continuously shown nothing but kindness to each other for the greater part of my life. This is likely the reason I don't find the superb state of my relationships with Raechyl and Lisa Marie particularly strange.
In essence, retaining past loves as best friends is indeed possible and I am very pleased to be a case in point... So how many words was that?
In other news, I find the inability of some people I consider friends to demonstrate the slightest ounce of common courtesy at times absolutely baffling. But that is a different topic for a different blog post, I suppose...
so the birthday = good times? I am very glad. Happy belated birthday, may you have many many more.
ReplyDeleteThe b-day was very good sushi-eatin', sake bomb-drinkin' times, Em (can I call ya Em?) thank you. Wish you coulda been there. How was your party??
ReplyDeleteEm? Go for it, but I reserve the right to rescind the half-name priviledge at any time.
ReplyDeleteMine was fab, thanks for asking. Very good pizza-eatin', reminiscin' times. A few tears were shed, but far out-weighed by the laughs shared, which in my opinion, defines success.
So glad to hear the "au revoir" party was a success. And as far as I'm concerned:
ReplyDeletelaughs shared > tears shed = success!
You should trademark that. Anyway, I'll go ahead and rescind the half-name priviledge myself. If you ever called me "Dyl" I'd be like "nuh uh". Other nicknames are permitted, however. "D" is a common one from the guys while "Dilly" seems to be a favorite among girls. Or feel free to make up your own!