Do we define friendship in minutes, hours, days, years?
I define it in respect.
Respect for how you live your life. The goals you set... the people you choose to share milestones and misery with...the effortless way you greet me... the confidence I feel when I say I know you.
I set a goal with this house project, I reached out for something that I was not certain I would be able to hold onto... almost like chasing a butterfly...almost too delicate to truely grab and hold... so it is constantly IN and OUT of your grasp. It can be frustrating, and overwhelming.
But I have friends.
Some of whom I knew not what incredible level of commitment they would showcase over the last year and a half .... on my behalf... most of which, I still struggle to feel deserving of.
But yet still... I have friends.
And in a quiet hotel room in Tempe, Arizona... one such friend calms his spirit to a whisper as he prepares himself for his own butterfly. On Sunday, a friend and growahouse patriot, Eric, will endure a twelve hour mystical and physical journey into the limits of his abilities as he begins and completes his first Ironman Race.
This Herculean effort is daunting to most, maybe even to Eric.... but like a true growahouse veteran, he will meet it on the battlefield nonetheless.
If I could make the water more buoyant, the wheels faster, or the tailwind stronger...
I would.
Unlike the 450 lb countertop or the impromptu flight of stairs, and despite my strongest desires to help...this is not a burden that I can share with you.
But I CAN wish you well... I CAN think good thoughts for jersey #277...
....and I WILL summon the full breadth of the growahouse spirit and community energy in welcoming you back to its hallowed halls next weekend.
Good luck tomorrow, old friend. Breathe easy.