We'll laugh until our ribs get tough.

Do you guys find that as you get older, and perhaps have accumulated more and more friends, and your days get more and more packed, you have such a hard time keeping up with all of your friendships?  I certainly do.  I feel like I have so many great friendships that I just am not able to give them the time they deserve.  But I try to improve on it.

This weekend, I had lots of good friend time. On Friday evening, I had my monthly "date" with my friend Elaine.  We try to book time together once a month, and it's quite effective.  (Although I think we missed out on our August and September dates.)  We joke that we are once-a-month friends, but I find in adulthood, seeing any friend once-a-month is a lot.  Other than my friends from work, and my pal Mathew, I doubt that I see any of my friends once per month.

Last night, I went to the wedding of my friends Rachelle and Jesse.  They are both friends from my university days, and they fall into the category of friends I definitely don't see often enough.  I think the last time I saw them both was at my birthday.  (Gah, so long ago.)   I was very happy to be included at their wedding though, and it gave me a great opportunity to get caught up with other friends from my university days.  In fact, we talked about how even though we don't see each other all that often, it's pretty great that we are still in touch when almost ten years has passed since university.

Getting to the wedding turned out to be a bit of a comedy, and gave me more time with my friends Jon and Ali.  I perhaps didn't leave my house with quite a bit enough time to get there safely.  I had gone for an excellent winter run in the afternoon.  It was sunny, and there was a bit of snow on the ground and not too much snow.  I ran 6 km in a respectable time.  After that, I needed some time to warm up, and then I took my time getting ready.  I was starving by the time I left my house, and stopped at Starbucks for a snack since I still thought I had plenty of time to get to the church.

St. Andrew Station was closed this weekend, so it meant that I had to take an alternate route to my destination.  I could switch trains twice and avoid waiting for a streetcar in the cold.  When I was on a train going south from St. George Station, there was a power outage that delayed the train.  After waiting a minute, I decided to bolt to the street to grab a cab.  I texted my friend Ali at the same time, and she and her husband were luckily in the area of the station, and swung around and got me.  (Good thing because there are always no cabs when you need them.)

We got there just in time, and it was a very lovely wedding.  As I said before, I had a great time catching up with my friends, and on the way home, my friend Jon said "Christy, we need to hang out more because I laugh a lot around you."  Awww, it's true.  I do sometimes laugh hardest around my longtime friends and I need to devote more time to those friendships.

The good news is that I'm making good on this goal already.  Today I read somewhere that Tori Amos is releasing a new album in the spring.  It's called "Unrepentant Geraldines" which I think is an excellent title, and of course I thought of my best Tori-friend Eric, and realized I hadn't seen him in a ridiculously long time.  I texted him, and we have a date next Sunday evening.  Then, I got a text from my friend Wendy (who I haven't seen since March) and she's in Toronto next Sunday too, so I'll see her in the afternoon.  And I made a phone date with my friend Alison, who lives in BC, for tomorrow.

Also, next weekend I'm going to see my friend Nancy who I haven't seen since before her baby was born.  I think the kid is over a year old now!  They live in Midland, and I'm heading up there to see Hawksley Workman on Friday.  So excited.

The great thing about all of these long-time friendships is that they still are in good health despite the fact that life doesn't let me see my friends as often as I used to.  I think that's how you know when friends are truly special.