I LOVE YOU EVEN WHEN YOU ANNOY ME

I had a long lunch yesterday. I don’t think anyone needed it more. I even had a chance to take a few minutes to enjoy Millennium Park, here in downtown Chicago. The new park is a wonderful place. It’s not often that a city uses prime real estate in one of the most expensive parts of the commercial and business district for a public park. It’s a beautiful place to just take a minute and get your thoughts together.

Sometimes, I think it’s important to take a short time out of your day to remember the things that make life important and precious.

How does this pertain to men and women’s misunderstandings of each other?

Well… night before last, two very important people in my life called me around the same time. One, a best friend of many years who lives Out East, and another a dear friend who lives much closer. One being male, and the other being female gave me a unique way of taking in all they were inadvertently reminding me of. So I’ll break it down in two seemingly unrelated short stories:

Short Story #1:

I am fairly familiar with a guy who grew up near me and now lives Out East. This guy is such an embarrassment that he has been black-balled by every person he comes into contact with, myself included. It’s not necessary the racism or anti-Semitism that gets people, but believe me, that crap doesn’t help his case. It’s not that he has already been slapped with sexual harassment on the job. Hell, it’s not even the fact that he has a crazed look in his eye. It’s really just the man himself.

So, this all-purpose leper invites my best friend out last night, and my friend accepts reluctantly. After a humiliating evening, my friend calls me up and tells me how bad this poor guy has really become. A full-blown alcoholic, he is now the vying for the Angriest Man Alive award. He’s a complete mess of a man. So much so, that my best friend has reluctantly decided to black-ball him as well (which I told him to do long ago).

Before we got off the phone, my best friend paused just to say thank you for being a life-long friend. I was kind of thrown off guard. But the sentiment really hit me. We talked a bit longer about how rare it is to truly have a best friend.

Short Story #2:

A dear friend of mine has gone through some emotionally tough times recently. She is an extremely special woman who has come further than anyone who meets her would ever guess. She truly is one in a million.

She now faces an extremely trying burden that she must shoulder almost alone. I do my best to allow her the emotional freedom to do what she must, but she still sometimes needs me to do nothing but hold the phone, so that my presence is there while she tries to sleep.

Now, although she has been edgy most of the years I’ve known her, and definitely a pain in the butt, she’s come a long way even in that. She’s been like a member of the family, even at her most difficult. But because I love her, she knows she gets away with things no one has before or probably ever will. And in that, she knows she has my love.

How do these stories relate to each other?

Well… you can’t have a best friend, mate or lover without the tumultuous times. Sometimes, the last thing we want to hear is the crap spewing out of the mouths of the people around us. Sometimes, we just want to be consumed with ourselves.

But you know what, after hanging up from two of the most important people in my life, I realized how lucky you are if you can find someone to put up with your shit and still want you. It makes me realize that if I’m putting up with all their crap, what in the world must they be putting up with from me???

So ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the weekend and give thanks. The people that truly care in our lives are rare. Respect them. Compromise when it’s reasonable. And don’t forget the blessings you have been lucky to receive, even if for a short time. Sometimes, just having them for a moment is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

Peace and Love,

nosthegametoo