Boundaries, eh?

It is an odd sort of thing to have friends blend into your family. Specifically for people like George & myself. We are quite adamant about maintaining boundaries with our friends and family. We love them, want to spend time with them, but work at preserving our little unit. Our own little Charlie Company: George, Kitty, Skeets & Frau.
I'll be the first to admit I'm stand-offish in this regard. So much so, my husband resorts to calling me "tactile defensive." Therefore its astonishing the friendship we've developed with Ben & Kelly.

We started out on a very formal basis w/ B&K. Cogizant and leary of boundary-crossing, as were they. We'd bring our own beer to their house; never call each other at work; and maintained a pretty two-dimensional relationship. It was basically confined to Wed night dinners watching "The Bachelor." But as time went on "public George & Erin" began to fade, as did "public B&K." Pretty soon B was talking about smaking his wife's ass while riding her rodeo style and K was telling of her Brazilian wax in detail. Thus began our intimate relationship. It has evolved into one of the best frienships I've ever experienced. G and K have the same type of personality: quiet, calm, cool, collected, while B & I have similar personalities: high-voltage, somewhat argumentative, and love to "push buttons" for the simple enjoyment of seeing the other spin up. B is a fellow attorney and not the slightest bit touchy-feely. We can both feel like absolute shit and neither would dream of hugging the other. It's perfect.

When I felt my absolute worst during my 9th mo of pregnancy: swollen, fat, pissy, sore and stretch-marked, B told me in complete sincerity he thought I looked nice, before we went out for what turned out to be our last supper before Skeets arrived on the scene. I wanted to cry and logged it in my annals of true friendship. (Ben, it says "annals," not "anals"). When K had baby Grant Henry we couldn't wait to see the little guy. When I saw little Grant Henry for the first time I felt some type of ownership, it's hard to describe, but now I somewhat of a protective instinct for the little chap. When K had problems breastfeeding I wanted to do anything to make it work for her and GH - I had the insane idea I could be GH's psuedo-wet-nurse, and would pump round the clock for them. I eventually came back down to reality - BUT if K took me up on it I would've whipped 'em out and started pumping, particularly if ST would be there. Everything turned out fine and K did an amazing job of handling that stress.

Then there are the times such as these: the epic float trip, complete with job prospects, tears promised b.j.'s on the river bank, and a trip to the Mo Club to wrap up the day. Or our trip to Polebridge "resort" stuffed into cots in a one room cabin while Ben served as a 5-course meal for spiders.
Or the Willie concert and the buiscuit check G performed on B and made B cry. Or the much awaited trip to Spokane for the "Lion King." We shared a hotel room w/ B&K, both kids in tow. Crammed into a room with two queen beds, only to wake up at 5:00 am to crying babies. The simplicity of sitting in a hotel room watching the early morning news, in pjs, drinking coffee with your two best friends is the definition of simple pleasure. It all works because we are careful not to cross certain boundaries. (With the exception of Fat Tire Festival and when B made G cry because he kept teasing him about being a Canuck, eh?) They are true friends, after all we wouldn't name just any old non-churching going couple as stand-in godparents for Bea's Catholic baptism. Now B takes his responsibility seriously; he makes sure to point out that we are not at mass when we are all sitting around drinking on a Sat night.

More importantly we are on the same page when it comes to parenting. I had secretly harbored great trepidations when K got pregnant. What if their kid is a pain in the ass?? Whiny, crying, annoying little shit?? GH is the polar opposite. GH is so laid back, just a really cool kid with a Felton kind of attitude. B&K are so good about having the little guy go with the flow. (Neither K or I are particularly hung up on schedules for napping, eating, playing, etc...) Now he is getting to the age where Bea just adores him. She feeds him his bottle, gives him his binki, and gives him hugs and kisses. It's just so weird to see our product loving their product. Of course B has to continually comment that someday GH & Skeets will be rolling around in the backseat of her hot pink SuperBee.



Friends like B&K made every Wednesdays and weekends BEAutiful days.