Puzzling Friends

I had this thought today:
 
   If all of my friends were to meet in the same room, would they have anything in common besides me?

I'm not talking about professions or politics or hobbies, though I do think those are indicative of innate traits; I'm talking personalities.  I mean, think about it: how many of your friends are or would be friends with each other?  Do you have any who might possibly twitch in the presence of each other?

Of course, this led to me imagining my friends mingling about a room, drinks in hand, and meeting and greeting.  Just typing that image brought a smile to my face, for a variety of reasons: 1. some of my friends would bond immediately and become even sassier, or 2. some of my friends would look at each other and wonder what in the world we have in common.  It is an interesting dichotomy.

I think I've always been aware of the different types of friendships in my life, how some people are just awesome to party with while others are the ones who will answer at 4 AM and still others are those who may be out of touch for months but we pick up just where we left off.  Rather like a jigsaw puzzle,

 each of the friendships we have in our lives fits some opening in just the right way to complete the picture.  If we are truly lucky, some of the pieces fit in more than one space; those are usually the ones without whom the picture would be indecipherable.

So, in honor of the truly amazing friends I have, I want you to know I am thankful for you because:

• you call me out on my BS.  Whether I have the rose-colored glasses on and think everything in the world is birds and sunshine or I have my head up my butt and can't see beyond my own struggle or I have my head in the sand because I just don't want to deal, thank you for having the courage to tell me about myself.  
• you make me smile or laugh when I struggle with the frustration or sadness in life.  Or, you just make me smile or laugh because you know how much I adore it.  Either way, usually just thinking about you brings about that response.  
• you encourage me when I stumble.  This might be an "At least you tried!" or "Well, not everyone can be good at everything." depending on your level of sass, but you always have a way of letting me know it was worth the effort.
• you challenge me to grow and think outside of the box.  Mind you, this isn't throw-down, meet-at-high-noon kind of challenging but rather raising the bar by what you do, how you think, inspire-the-heck out of me challenge.  I have blatantly told some of you how you do this for me; others have no idea the impact you've had.
• you engage my spirit with your humility, compassion, open-mindedness, thoughtfulness.  With you, my faith strengthens and grows.
• you celebrate life with me.  If we've laughed together, cried together, enjoyed a sunset together, we've celebrated life.  That's what it's all about.
• you let me be my random, weird, emotional, philosophical self.  Without judging it.  That's huge.

While my puzzle certainly isn't complete, I am grateful for all of the pieces who have been building the picture with me - it wouldn't be the same without you.