I HAVE A FRIEND                                                                                 

I have a friend who reminds me of my own thoughts, usually days or weeks after I've expressed them. She reminds me because, a. I didn't follow up, or b. She wonders what happened to them, or saw them finished, or something, and comments.

This is good.

My friend has her own thoughts too, and often expresses them. I'm grateful for this because, a. They are things I had not thought of, and are fresh and are usually good to hear, and/or b. They're simply great ideas that might be worth following up, acting on, or, perhaps, subtle suggestions to you-know-who...

Why do I write this? Because, while I often write while sitting on my back porch, NOW I'm writing while sitting on a nice, comfortable piece of outdoor furniture while sitting on my back porch - with more to come. There are dark wood rocking chairs and a love-seat-outdoor-thing, all with deep, pale green cushions. They are way-comfortable, and now I find myself out here all the damn time.

My friend reminded me some time ago I wanted these things. I had not acted on it. Usually stuff takes acting upon, I got reminded...

However, I wonder if my friend knew what might happen: that instead of hiking a couple miles this morning, like I told myself I'd do - I am still here, sitting, on my dark wood and light green sofa-thing...

Or... I wonder if, when I receive the new piece of furniture for the other balcony (my neato house came with two balconies, included), which will be a sort-of-chaise-yet-day-bed-yet-outdoor-kinda-thing-you-can-sit-read-lay-sleep-on, I will ever leave the other balcony, even for the one I'm sitting on now?

I ordered the new furniture for the neato-other-balcony just today, which is sorta why I write... yet I seriously digress.

Or do I?

Sometimes I make suggestions my friend likes, such as the U.S.-Canadian border (that's enough info there), or grilled shrimp on a Saturday night.

OR, sometimes neither one of us think of one single thing, even if we mean to, and end up staring at the sky, or feeling the heat of a hot, humid day, like yesterday, and do absolutely nothing, not even think of something "on an accident."

Other times we think of or do really dumb things that are hilarious and we laugh like little squirts who haven't a worry in the world, like this: one day my friend started winking at me, as if she were doing some kinda Sarah Palin routine, until I started winking back.

There was never an explanation for this, no need. Too funny.

Then sometimes one of us - usually we take turns, thank goodness - stresses over not-a-damn-thing, like, as in: nada - and maybe semi-flip-out until we catch ourselves or one catches the other, which, at times, the other doesn't like but GETS sooner or later, and once again it's all good.

And last but certainly not least sometimes one of us can stress over something worthy of stress, yet the other reminds the other it'll pass, which it ALWAYS does, and the stress becomes less stressful until - poof! - it's gone.

Just like that.

Poof!

When this happens there's a pretty good chance one of us says this: "huh..."