I have great friends.  First, I’d like to tell you about one I met in Boston…let’s call her, for the sake of this story, Christina Braun.  If she posted a personals ad it would read as follows:  Likes:  Organized storage, efficient cataloging, well composed decor and kept schedules.  Dislikes:  Traffic violators, poorly mixed martinis and slackers.

She’s one of those friends who is great in every situation.  She’s 1/2 German and 1/2 Irish, which means she’s way more organized than me and twice the fun.  If you are moving, she shows up with boxes, tape, iced coffee and her label maker.  If you have a bad day – or a bad boyfriend – she will take you to a bar like the Linwood on Kilmarnock, proceed to throw back a few, and laugh at you the next day for dropping trou to show off your tattoo to total strangers.

Next, I’d like to tell you about Patty.  She’s my best friend since High School.  Ahhhh, the stories I could tell.  Lucky, we were never arrested or questioned and somehow came out alive.  She is the kind of friend I can call at any hour, drunk or sober.  I can tell her everything from the grossest medical condition to the happiest moments of my life.  Which, oddly, have been the same occasion once or twice.  She’s part friend, part therapist, part co-critic and part confessional priest.

We have unlimited long distance, right?

I mention my friends because they have been my crutches lately.   As I said before, the life of an unemployed married couple can be a roller coaster at best.  One of my coping techniques is long distance phone call therapy.  My husband doesn’t always want to listen to my highly detailed worst case scenario fantasies.  But, Patty and Christina do. That’s what friends (of obsessive compulsive worriers) are for.

Truly though, my friends listen. And they make me laugh at what sometimes seems unlaughable.  They have been a source of comfort and encouragement every step of the way.  I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t pick up the phone and call them.

The Human Resource

Since Erik and I have started this unemployment adventure, it has been exciting and a little scary.  The one constant throughout has been great people.  I have relied on my old friends and made some great new friends along the way.  Erik especially has witnessed the power of the people.  All of the new friends who shared their stories for Lemonade.  All of the people that donated their time and talents…I am just amazed by their generosity.  Sometimes friends happen like well tossed life preservers.

Something is lost but something is gained in living everyday

I have to pull out the Joni Mitchell for this.  Things change.  Erik and I have lost some stuff and jobs.  But, our friends have been constant.  New and old.  I truly value the human resource.  I love what we have gained.  And lately, I am not missing what we have lost.