Feeling very grateful for friends today. Friends who enable my Sees candy habit and understand my sense of humor — all at the same time (above photo — you know who you are). Friends who bake a separate little dish of vegetarian lasagna just for me — even though there are nine other people to be served dinner who eat meat. Been-around-forever friends, new friends…I’m just really grateful. Grateful to finally feel like I fit in with people…and grateful that people can fit in with me. I started raising a family before most of my peers were even thinking about putting resumes together. So my life path and my priorities have been a little different. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not sad about it, nor do I feel any regret. It’s simply a fact. Bringing up two boys by yourself doesn’t leave a lot of time or ability to nurture friendships or do what normal early-twenty-somethings do. Not if you’re going to raise them well, any way. But now that my kids are grown, I have gradually found that I have a lot more time and energy to invest in other people and I’m much less isolated. I must admit…it’s nice. I don’t have the interest or the energy to go to clubs or make up for my early adult years, but it’s nice to enjoy the simple pleasures of laughter and good company.