Boys Night.

You guys often see me + friends on the blog, but what you don't usually see are some of my best and oldest friends. They have all moved away to places like Vancouver, Toronto, and well... Richard was in Montreal, Boston, and now New York (Brooklyn). The one big virtue of staying in Edmonton is that eventually everybody comes home to visit!

Two of my best men-friends are currently in town. Bryce and Richard! Visiting separately, but collectively adding to my summer happiness.

Last week, we all rode over to Da Capo for some pizza and drinks.



Group riding with little D in the Madsen bucket is fun. We all take turns riding up and getting high fives! At one point Dexter was trying to lean out of the bucket to touch the spokes on the rear wheel while the bike was in motion. The wheel was too far away for him to reach it, but I didn't want him getting used to leaning out of the bucket (I prefer all limbs inside) so I sternly warned him to stop it.

Wow. Dexter knows how to hold a grudge. When we first arrived he wasn't on speaking terms with anybody except his dad. Look at this grudge-y face.



Mom: Dexter, want to take off your coat?

Little D: NO.

Mom: I love you, Dexter.

Little D: { silence }

Mom: Shall we go change your poo diaper? It must be uncomfortable to have poo in your pants.

Little D: No.

And that's how it went for a while, until little D eventually warmed up and started eating our pizza and gelato. Then he was back to high fives and being charming.

Cheers to that!



My thumb splint sort of looks like a bike glove that I refuse to take off.



Much later, after riding home on the scenic route, uncle Richard did some story time with the little man.



I am lucky to have lots of great friends in my life, and I really miss my faraway friends. Even though they're not here every day, when I see them again there is a familiarity and comfort about being around them.

I still remember things that happened over a decade ago, like how Richard made a comment about the Sailor Moon (Super) t-shirt I was wearing in English class when we were 15. Shortly thereafter I found out his phone number, called him up, and declared that we should be friends. We would take the bus after school or on weekends and wander around University campus or downtown. He used to keep me company before my evening piano lessons, which I also bussed to after school. We would talk on the phone for hours, until I would have to say that I had to go to the bathroom or get a snack, and we would break for a few minutes.

When I had a particularly bad breakup and would go running off to Montreal to get away from it all, Richard would take me to eat smoked meat and sesame bagels. Sometimes we just lay around and read books and comics. Last year we prowled the meat packing district in Manhattan and ate thin crust pizza and went bar-hopping in the east village.

And I have a little D now. So we read Dexter books, have dance parties, give him baths, and go on bike rides.

It's not just about good times, since Richard and I are also known to fight. We can both be very stubborn. We hold each other accountable for bad behaviour, and nobody likes to be told they're doing something wrong. A true friend will be honest, and trust that the recipient of the criticism knows it comes from a place of love.

Richard is one of my true friends. Sometimes I get sad and disappointed when a friendship doesn't live up to my expectations or when things just fizzle out (it just happens, people grow apart). Then at times like this, most unexpectedly (like when I'm rambling in a blog post), I remember how lucky I am to have true friends who understand me.

And it makes me feel really good about being here.