My best friend’s birthdays always promise to be interesting.  Three years ago I picked up a moving truck on this day to get the hell out of here.  Away from this city and away from him.  It wasn’t hard, we’d given up on each other already.  No love lost because I decided to move away, physical distance was the least of our problems.

But, two years ago I was back, and suddenly, so were we.  It was like the three years we had spent hating each other melted away.  We’d both grown up, made the decision to let what happened to our friendship go.  That year he turned 25, proving us to be too old to hold on to the grudge.  What better way to celebrate then wrestling?

Then another year passed, all smooth sailing, and we celebrated his birth even harder.  And yes, it is possible to celebrate harder then mud wrestling.  His 26th was three straight days of bars, movies, shows, swimming and late night talks.  I could barely move by the end of it.

This year is a little different, as the boy is off celebrating in Hawaii.  Without me.  Ass.  No worries, we fit in the party before he left.  It’s also different because we hit a bump in the road this year, a bump we couldn’t ignore as it involved a screaming match outside a restaurant and me pinning him against the building.

The biggest difference is the way we handled this fight.  Our turn around time is vastly improved now, we were on our way to being okay before he even walked away from me that night.  Every year on his birthday I can look back and see how much we’ve grown.  Every year on his birthday I can look back and see how much he has taught me.

He sounds happy in Hawaii, he needed this vacation.  He sounded positively giddy when I freaked out because he wouldn’t tell me what he bought me.  I don’t like surprises or anticipation, I want to know what it is now.  But in some way I trust him, he knows me well enough to pick something, even if all I wanted was a postcard.  He wouldn’t put me through the anticipation if the feeling wasn’t worth something.

Some how in the last ten years he has managed to teach me faith, and I would have never believed it possible.  From screaming matches in high school about faith being bullshit to breaking his heart when I told him I didn’t trust him, we’ve ended up here, a place where I know that even if we duke it out he’s going to be there the next day.

I don’t think I could do this without you, and this year on your birthday I believe that I’ll never have to try.  Love ya, Happy Birthday!