Last Friday evening, my core group of friends took me out to see a Drag Queen show for my birthday. Yes, it was crazy fun. All of us celebrating our birthdays were led via conga line to the stage for some dancing. Sometimes we all need to shed our 'roles'--Mom, Sister, friend, children's book author, and dog walker--and experience a night of bliss outside the box. Yelling and hollering along with the joy seeking revelers as men in bling bling costumes sang and danced and made us laugh is by far one of the best ways to celebrate turning forty-five that I can think of.
Looking back on the wild night, what really strikes me is the love, support and joy that I get from my friends. Can there be a greater better birthday gift? There were five of us and we make a group, but the unique personality of each needs to be appreciated to really capture the significance of how blessed I am.
In talking with one of these friends a few days ago about the significance of a loved one, I said that for me it is their physical body; the way they hold and express themselves, move, and laugh. She thinks of things that they have done together, events shared. One of our friends was missing from the group due to a retreat she is on, and her presence was with us. But that is not the same thing.
As I think of each friend at the Show, and the one at the retreat, I see a part of me in them. Friends are like a refracted version of ourselves; like looking through five windows at how your life could have been if you had been born at a different time, location, and through different parents. At the same time, I know that I would still have a personality that, like a snowflake, would be a modified version of who they are. The variance of the individual is as amazing as my friends.
But the most amazing thing is that I am blessed with some really good friends, ones who take me out for an evening with men dressed as women.
Heather Leigh
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