Sincerity [noun] ~ /sɪnˈsɛrəti/
"The absence of pretence, deceit, or hypocrisy."
8 years ago, sometime after my first daughter was born, my wife asked me if we could drive to the park to meet some new friends. I did not know who they were. She mentioned that she had met the mom in one of the todler classes at the library probably. I honestly can't remember.
As we arrived to the park, the couple came to meet us and we introduced ourselves. Their names were Mr. S. and Mrs. L. They had a newborn son, Little M.
We talked for a bit, and walked around. I have never found it easy to make friends in general, especially as I got older, but this felt a bit different, I liked them from the get go. They seemed like good people.
Mr. S. is from Eastern Europe. All I thought I knew about Eastern Europeans is that they were tough as nails. I probably thought this guy may be in a gang for all I know!. Luckily for me, he wasn't!. He does like clubbing, which probably the most gang thing one could do :-). I am yet to go clubbing with Mr. S.. He has said his clubbing days were legendary.
Mrs L. is also eastern european, and a straight shooter. I like that about her. She will give it to you straight, no bullshit. That is the kind of friends I treasure.
When we were getting ready to head back home, Mr. S. invited us over to their place. We drove back and came in for a chat and a drink. It did not take long for me to find out what Mr. S. really enjoyed doing. He was very .... very good at it!.
He loved cooking.
I will never forget that day. The food was amazing. And you know what they say: “A full belly, a happy heart”. We had a great afternoon with our new friends, and it felt very good to meet people who in some way are similar to you in the way they see and enjoy life.
That day right before we left, I made one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made in my life. I promised Mr. S. that I would invite them for Colombian food at our place. It took me about 7 years to fulfill that promise. To this day, I have not heard the end of it. He reminds me about it every chance he gets. I kind of like the banter.
As time went on, we became very good friends. Our families grew closer together. We went on trips to europe, celebrated birthdays and holidays. Had plenty of BBQs and would ocassionally get together for chat and drinks. It has been a great ride.
They are amazing people, and I love them to bits.
But not everything is rainbows and unicorns, and this is when true friendship comes along and shows you not just how fragile life is, but also how great human beings can be.
We have gone through a lot of stuff together as friends, you know ...... real life stuff. Not a single time we have let each other down. We have had the most honest conversations over coffee, and not once have we had an argument about our points of view. We respect and love each other too much to allow that to happen. They are one of the very few people in the world with whom I could talk about anything, and no topic is off the table. They are amazing human beings, and have demonstrated time and time again how much they care, and how important we are to each other.
We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. We have been friends for over 8 years, and we continue to demonstrate to each other that togetherness that has grown a lot ever since we first met that sunday morning.
Thank you my dear friends, for always warming my heart. Thank you for listening to me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for keeping me honest and always being there for me, even when you have your own things to deal with.
Thank you for the Moroccan meatballs.
Thank you for the Greek cheese pies.
Thank you for the innumerable amount of time we have shared together.
Thank you for the Colombian food. Specially for taking the time to cook it!.
Thank you for the pub chats.
Thank you for the football banter.
Thank you for the BBQs.
Thank you for all the birthday parties.
Thank you for the trips.
Thank you for the book of mormon.
Thank you for the mexican dinner.
Thank you for the coffees and the teas.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for being there when dad died.
I could sit here all day and make a list of all the amazing things I love about you. I will try and summarize it in one single word. One that encapsulates the whole story, and one that I am sure will never change between us .......
Sincerety.
Thank you my darlings for being who you are. You are amazing people.
I hope I can be as good to you as you have been to me.
Love,
AJ.
Thanks for reading.
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