Here I am at about 7 in the morning on my first full day of summer, and I can't sleep any longer. When I was a kid and school would end for the year, it would always take my mind and body a few days, sometimes a few weeks, to fully adjust to the idea that I didn't have to go to school. Now, as a teacher, it seems the same phenomena plagues me.
I've been thinking a lot over the past week about the nature of friendship. People like to put parameters on what is acceptable or unacceptable, what one is supposed to do as a friend. We go around acting as if there exists a written rulebook detailing the rights and wrongs, the expected duties, and so on.
The reality is that there are so many different types of friendships that it's an impossible act to classify. I have friends that are pushing 65, and I have friends that are 17, still technically minors by law. I have many friends of both genders. People are often surprised at how many women I'm friends with (and I mean FRIENDS: don't get any ideas). Many people most certainly find it odd that I'm friends with almost all of my ex-girlfriends. "I could never do that," they say. Why not? There were reasons why I was attracted to the woman in the first place, and unless it was purely physical, that quality probably still resonates. So romance didn't work out with us: so what? I'm friends with my parents. That strikes many people as strange. I like my parents as much or more than any people on the planet. Same with my siblings. My brother and sister are awesome. When I go to family meals, I get excited because I get to hang out with people I love beyond the familial bonds.
I am a lucky bastard for having the friends I do.
And forget the rules: There are none.
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