Gratitude Practice 2022 Nov: Nothing is Better Than Pizza…Except Friendship

At first glance…maybe it's the shape of pizza that I love so much. Both predictable and  expected with its crusty trusty border. But, maybe it's the sauce…speckled and freckled with spices and always the perfect shade of tomato red…because tomatoes in almost any form…are life. Foundational. Sustaining. Nobody could ever question my deep affection for all things cheese and when carefully placed on the pizza pie...I'm dead. Cheese...when toasted to a bubbly greasy glimmering perfection...welp…this is where I lose all of my words. Perhaps this is where true love lives. And I could never rule out the power and prominence of pizza toppings which I consider the fashion accessories of the entire meal. A bold black olive will never disappoint. A zesty green pepper adds some funk and flare. Onions, in my opinion, are always optional but I'm rarely opposed. And the meats…oh, how I enjoy and endorse some carefully selected pizza proteins. Pepperoni is always a perfect choice and consistently delivers the magic…every…single…time. When the night calls for a little something special, I suggest we step up the fancy and I'll always advocate for jalapenos because life is short and why the hell not. And when I'm feeling really racy…a tiny drizzle of hot honey takes the whole experience…well, to the next level.I believe pizza is ALWAYS a good idea BUT when given the chance to share a pizza with a dear friend…well, there is nothing better. 

Grateful tonight for truly delicious pizza…I mean it was next level yum. Equally and actually way way more grateful for the dear friend I got to share it with. Grateful for the years shared exploring and experiencing and expanding. Grateful for the highs and lows and the everything in-between. Grateful for the raw and the real inside our relationship. Grateful for the mentoring and the mother-ing we have done for each other. Grateful for the honesty and the safety and the trust. Grateful to be seen and heard and known…warts and flaws and issues and fears and insecurities and through all of the big wins…we are game for it all. Grateful to reconnect and review and renew and remember even after months have passed since our last convo.  Grateful to look around my pizza shaped orbit and find many good good women and a handful of really decent men who have so generously showed up and shown me love. Grateful for those good good people who love me when it's easy and even, and perhaps especially, when it isn't. Grateful for the truth tellers, the question askers and the detail remembers. Grateful for the advocates and the cheerleaders. Grateful for the thought partners and the partners in crime. Grateful for really good pizza and grateful for even better friendship. And super grateful for the nights when I get a little of both.