A Letter From My Friend

To my friend,

Thank you for asking me to write a little something about my experience of being your friend. I love being your friend!

I am incredibly blessed to walk on this journey with you, to share in yours, as you share in mine.  I have learned so much about you, about me, and about the world through our friendship. 

You have taught me how to be a better friend – to talk less and listen more.

You have taught me how to be more confident, to live more confidently.

You have taught me about exceptional, unconditional love.

You have taught me about patience – how to be more patient with myself and others.

It’s been nearly 10 years, and watching the way some people respond to you still shocks me.  Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of good and loving people out there, but there are those who just don’t get it.  There is so much staring – when you make a noise you can’t control, whether it’s happy or angry … My response is to get my back up….And I know…maybe they don’t “get it” because being with people who have been labeled as “different” is not part of their context. Maybe they don’t  “get it”  because they just “need to learn…” Maybe they don’t get it because they just don’t care to.

Being with you when your pain is intolerable is hard. It’s hard to be with anyone that I really care about when they are in pain.  It feels infuriating because I feel helpless – knowing there is very little I can do to take it away for you – though I’ll always sing my heart out to your favourite songs to try and drown out the pain. 

When your intelligence is assumed or denied based on your inability to communicate verbally with the world, it not only breaks my heart but it maddens me. When people talk to you through me, as though you won’t understand what they are asking or saying, it sometimes takes all I have to respond to them in charity and with patience. You often remind me that it is better to inform and educate than to get angry. But those times when your righteous anger is front and center – you are also reminding me to choose the best times to stand up against preconceived notions of “normal.”

My dear friend, I know that a big part of who I have become is because of your love and friendship. 

I love you and look forward to sharing the next ten years of our journeys together (and with the world).

SMB

10 years of fun, friendship and adventures!