Love:

I have these friends, these wonderful wonderful friends, named Tony and Emily. I’ve known Tony since the third grade and Emily since college, and they were both already on my short list of all-time favorite people, and then they met through me and fell in love and last weekend they got married, and I could not be happier, because now I get this lifetime two-for-one friend deal. They are both fantastic people, fun people, terribly clever and talented people, but more than anything, good people. They are kind and sweet and steadfast and strong, and they never let you down, and only surprise you in happy ways.

They are the type of friends who will buy you a tube of this lipgloss on their honeymoon because they know you will love the glittery red and moreover, they know how excited you will be that the name matches your license plate. They will make you mix tapes and funny things out of construction paper for no reason whatsoever. They will throw you fantastic birthday parties and remember the names of all of your cousins and the people you’ve kissed. They will drive on road trips, and sing along with you when you put in your CD of guilty pleasure music, and play filthy dirty road trip games that require shredding of all evidence upon arrival. They will let you cry and get their shirt all snotty and not care, and then feed you pasta and ice cream sandwiches and loan you pajamas and tuck you into the guest bedroom for the night, AND wake you up in time for work the next morning.

Friends like this put everything in perspective. I am so lucky.