Treasures

When picking up my children from school, I always ask, “How was your day?” We talk for a few minutes about the best and worst experiences, drawing out lessons and laughs. Then the boys name all their best friends. This takes a while because in kindergarten everyone is elevated to “best friend” status.

This trend does not continue as one gets older. Somewhere around junior high, people start to suck. By the time high school rolls around, good friends are few and far between. If blessed, you may find one or two who hold on for the rest of your life.

This is true for most normal people. Take someone with an attitude the size of an afro, along with an actual afro, and attracting a posse is damn near impossible. Therefore imagine my surprise at finding friends who have stuck around for the long haul. One even married me.

While living in a northern town, I found what Husband calls Gold Standard Friends. Our bonds are so strong that even if I didn’t email and call CONSTANTLY, we’d still stay connected all the rest of our days. Upon moving back to Tampa, I thought I’d never find such peeps again. Of course, for the first three years, I was preoccupied with teething issues and preparing organic baby food. Full-time motherhood didn’t leave much time for anything else. After embarking on a teaching career, I again felt slightly dismayed. Ever hang out in a teacher’s lounge? Not exactly a hotbed of progressive ideas or socially appropriate behavior. However, I figured I had two choices:

1- Give up and go home, using isolation to further my irritation with this town.
2- Hang in there and hope for the best.

I decided to hang in there and something remarkable happened. I slam Tampa like any northeastern liberal; however allow me this moment to repent. There are some truly wonderful and wacky people around here. Through writing, teaching and political events, I have found some treasures. Men tend to be better buddies – no hanky panky as I still repel like a motherf*cker – they simply carry less emotional baggage and appreciate barbaric wit. Lately, though, I’ve had the pleasure of socializing with some great gals. Who knew? And they have husbands who are engaging and talk about something other than football! Saturday night, Husband and I hung out with Beth – fellow teacher and wise-ass – and her husband Mike. Mike was hoping to avoid getting mentioned on my site, but they’re so terrific I can't help myself. I don't even mind that Beth blows off one of my rallies because Bobby Jon on Survivor is too hot to miss. Another friend – Dorothy – actually promised to attend a campaign event with me. I suppose this can only mean one thing: Tampa is not the end of hell.

Hear that? It’s a tic-tac scented sigh of relief.