Love of a Friend

You know, as a guy it's hard for me to tell people "I love you." Growing up, that phrase was not heard but there was a silent understanding that my family loved me. To change that pattern, I make sure that I constantly tell my daughter that I love her and she will not have to grow up with the same type of emotional baggage that I carry. I know that I am not perfect and I probably will give her some other type of emotional baggage to carry in her life, but it won't be the same type as mine. That's the best I can do as a father (try to give her a better life than I had).

I got a little side tracked there. Anyway, I have been able to tell other people in my life that I loved them. And at that time I did love them so I used the term appropriately. But the people that truly matter to me I have not told as frequently how much they mean to me. I do not have a whole lot of "close" friends in my life. I have always been extremely guarded and not let people get too close to me emotionally. Unfortunately, this creates a gap in my life that does not allow people to get too close to me. Therefore, they can not be close friends. I have a lot of acquaintances, but they do not know much about my personal life.

So for the few people out there that are my close friends (and they know who they are), I just wanted to say, "Thanks and I love you." Not the same type of phrase that was on Starved, but the real deal. Without these people in my life, I would not be were I am today. They helped me through some hard times in my life. Life has its ups and downs and they have been there with me through both. Hopefully they will be with me for a long time to go through more of my future life cycles.