One of my most beloved friends on the whole planet has been visiting this week and it got me to thinking about what a gift long-term friendship is, and how it's different and even better in some ways than the familial bonds we have with the people we are related to. Our dearest friends are the family we choose for ourselves and they love us because they choose to--not because it's expected or required.

My sweet friend has seen me at my absolute worst--frantically young, insecure and completely clueless, and at my best--settled and (sort of) mature and content. It's been a huge 20-year arc of growth and loss and coming together and moving away from each other, but we've managed to stay connected through it all. That's love.

And I know I have said it before, but there is something so magical about sitting on a beach at midnight and looking at the stars with someone who knew you way back when--when you were both in your 20s with so much ahead of you--before spouses and children and careers. When that friend still loves you and thinks you're cool and fun and sees you in some ways exactly as they did back then, and you feel the same in return, it's just the best. The whole friendship thing is an awesome gift we give to ourselves and each other and there's nothing better. Okay, I'm rambling and embarrassing myself now, but I'm a happy, nostalgic camper with sand in my car and U2s Joshua Tree in my CD player. Oh, jeebus, the stories we could tell...