GIFTS :: If there’s one thing I love, it’s giving a good gift – big or small, for a significant occasion or no occasion at all. Actually, I think no occasion at all perfect gifts are the best kind.

And today, I bought a no occasion at all gift for 3 of my dearest friends and I am so excited with how perfect the gift is for them. I’m also ruining the surprise by writing on here about it, but let’s face it — even though these three know about this little gem of a blog of mine, even they rarely read it.

A year ago, these friends came to visit and I was a mess. A crying, puking, jobless, anxious, mess. Perhaps you remember me at this time last year? In a span of 2 weeks I threw up on a blind date, threw up with friends at our annual reunion, threw up on the side of the road, and threw up at the Portland airport. I continued to throw up sporadically for several months. I wasn’t sick. It was just one of those life slumps where everything seems unknown and scary and well, you should know this about me – my coping mechanism for these types of situations is barfing –  a very attractive quality of mine.

These same friends visited again this year and lucky for them they got to experience the non-puking version of me. However, I did notice myself trying not to have too much fun with them. Odd I know, but I miss them and I don’t want to…And you have to admit, not having too much fun is a way better coping mechanism than barfing. Yes, of course, we will always be friends, but each of our individual lives are ever changing. Our daily experiences are no longer shared and we live VERY far away from each other which I find nothing less than tragic. Yet, what our friendships have been, and are, and will become, though different from what they once were, are still precious.

So dear friends here’s a “perfect little no occasionat all gift” that I know you will each be ecstatic to receive in your respective corners of the world. Enjoy and know that you are missed.