I've always had such a strong friendship with all my guy friends.
There has always been a 'catch 22' to it, though
because at some point we all realized we had
G R O W N U P
They started falling in love with the girls...
I began these 384735897 seasons as 'The Bachelorette'.
But every once in a while, we all find ourselves S I N G L E again.
And lucky for me - the boys don't mind it if "Bear" is a part of man time.
A bunch of lazy boys with a hyper and excited kid-sister type to fetch beers?
Plus the beach!
Don't mind if I do, they say!
I picked up Frank from his house in Oviedo and we hopped on I-4 West bound from Orlando to Tampa. Frank and I always had a close friendship. His main love was one of my best friends and he was best friends with my main love. The four of us were best known as 'the Rat Pack' and that's just a whole other story in itself! Those were some funny times!
Frank just relocated from Boston where he was in school and the starting center-fielder for Northeastern. We were headed to Tampa Bay/Clearwater Beach area to visit Steven and Ryan. We had plans to get up with Dana, who had just relocated to Tampa, but were unable to! Word on the street is that she may be a little less single than us! ;)
Ryan and I grew up together and our families stayed close through soccer and community. After we graduated he moved to Tampa to attend USF and now he's loving the big world from over on Florida's West coast - I don't blame him!
Steven also went to USF. His dad was the Methodist minister in my hometown and Steven and I have known each other since middle school. All of these boys and I have been a part of one another's life for quite some time. Pastor Powers and Mrs. Powers relocated to Clearwater/Tampa area a couple of years ago. So, now all of them are over there instead of at the homefront that we all knew for ourselves growing up!
We got to Steven's house and I changed into my bikini and we hit the beach.
There really is no way to describe how amazing it was to be sitting with those 3 boys on that beach. Life has been hard for me lately, but I find a reason to smile and laugh everyday even if it takes all my strength to do so. With this, though, I needed no other reason.
I looked up from my verrry relaxed state in my 'low-rider' beach chair and told Frank:
I'm genuinely HAPPY!
After lots of sun, and getting the wind knocked out of me in the water by the unusually powerful waves, we stopped for supplies to make vodka tonics back at Steven's house.
Then we played pool-basketball and I lost a record number of "H-O-R-S-E" games, and then the boys cooked Chilean Sea Bass and rice for dinner. Apparently they were still hungry though because my fast-pace to get ready was still too long in man time!
We made it out the door and were off to see a jamband showcse in St. Pete Beach at this trendy little theater. We were all pretty beat from the beach, Bud Lights, and sea bass!
We jammed out in the car ride back to Steven's to Widespread Panic and I was finally in a place where I was enjoying good friends, familiar faces, and good music all at once!
It's funny how much music connects you with people and then re-connects you with people.
I probably wouldn't have been on that trip if I hadn't started talking 'music' with Ryan when we got to spend a lot of time together at JC's wedding in June. For the past several months, I had been spending all of my time with someone who didn't have a very passionate love for music. It really has played a major role in defining a lot of my friendships.
Like Lauren.
And Kathleen.
And Travis.
and I like all of those people, a lot. And I like that their playlist don't make me want to vom.
I had some pretty awesome chats with Frank, Steven, and Ryan all together and each separately. It's funny, too, how much everything kinda stays the same once it's all done changing so drastically. They kept me smiling and they made me realize that I'm loved unconditionally by them and they respect me for my individuality.
Steven was one of the founders of the infamous "Bear" nickname.
I absolutely DO NOT get called Baily by these boys, it's hilarious...
I think Ryan and Steven are glad that I am a little Grateful Dead dancing bear these days!
I hope they know how special they are to me.
Here's to you, boys! Y'all have always made me believe that my wings were made to fly :)
peace and love
-your "Bear"
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