20 Kids, 20 Years

There's a saying that "20 kids cannot play for 20 years". I love this statement/proverb so much. The first time I heard it was in Yoruba from my mom so I don't really know if it's actually a Yoruba proverb translated or vice versa. Still, it's so apt.

I always say to anybody that will listen, my best friends today are those friends that I knew while in college. For some reason, they're looking to buck the 20 kids/20 years proven proverb. These guys are all one in a million. Over the years we've laughed, we've cried, we've fought, we've loved, we've pretty much been with and supported each other true a myriad of emotions. These guys are the one that increasingly, I find myself running back to whenever I want to have a REAL conversation. I can't say how much I appreciate their love and kindness. The older I get the more I realize that real true friends, who want the best for you always, who know you inside and out and accept you and love you for who you are, are really, really rare gems. One of my closest friends of this bunch I havent even seen in years, but still there's nothing like that one hour conversation where you just run through the entire list of happenings and before you even say one thing or the other, they just get where you're coming from. Gosh, I'm so blessed to have these people in my life.

Now back to that proverb up there. You're probably wondering ok, so what's the connection then. Well I think the conneciton for me is that people move in and out of your life very quickly. Most don't want to bother to see you, I mean really see you. If you have 20 kids on a playground it is very very unlikely that those children as they grow older and "wiser" will learn to appreciate and love each other more. Rather it's the opposite. As they know each other more, their human flaws come out with claws. Life throws us all together in the wash and by the time we get our bearings we're all a little washed out.

Either way, I thank God immensely for those friends I made in college who years later are still sticking by me, caring about me, and renewing my faith in friendships. I'm lucky to have them.