It's been an interesting year on the "friends" front. Joe & I have recently had 3 friends completely fall off the map. Friends that we've considered "family" & vice versa.

I don't know whether it is due to the way I grew up, giving people the benefit of the doubt, second chances, & simply believing that anything can be worked out, especially with "family". Not to boast, but Joe & I consider ourselves very giving people, and when a friendship goes up in flames, like paper, with just one spark, it leaves you feeling duped. Furthermore, most people around us realize that it has been a rough year for us with Joe's fighting for custody of his son, financial strains, Joe's Father's passing & simply trying to lift our career off the ground after Joe being blacklisted from the Christian Music world after "coming out". And when friends leave you high & dry during these hard times makes the blow even harder to handle. I've been angry thinking that friendships that have lasted 10 years could dissolve so easily without any attempt to salvage. I feel stupid for believing the best in these people, but people are just people. I try chalking it up to emotional insecurity or immaturity but it gets harder to do with each passing year that we are all supposedly growing up! Is it LA? No, because these friends weren't origianally from LA, but LA, being so big, does leave you feeling that it IS possible to kick a friend to the curb & KNOW that you won't have to see them again.

I guess the bottom line for this bitch session is that it's important for us to build more stable friendships. We've lost friends before due to our sexuality, which was not hard for us to get over, since that reasoning is so foolish, but I don't like having to answer to Joe's son's questions "Why doesn't so & so come over anymore?" It's life I guess & there's never anyway of controlling what people do, but I'm fighting getting bitter. Thankfully our relationships with our families have only grown through the years which makes me even more anxious to have kids.

Now, I WON'T deny that we have made several great friends recently which we are very appreciative for.

My advice to everyone is to not throw out your friends, like recycling a paper bag. Most everything can be worked out, but sometimes people are unable to try and it's okay to let them go.

Life IS fragile, but real LOVE is neverending. People aren't perfect, and friendships shouldn't be.