I have a friend who when I meet him always makes me happy and I cannot help smiling when I see him. We met for lunch yesterday with my other half.
This friend invited us to a restaurant where you had to climb a set of stairs to enter from the foyer to the restaurant. He was initially worried that I would have trouble scaling the steps. I assured him I would be okay. And, he was surprised how “normal” I took the stairs. Stepping up on leg after the other. Before I started my muscle relaxant medication, I would have stepped up then raised my other leg up to the same tier before stepping up again, but now I step up one leg after the other like most people do. My friend was pleasantly surprised at how well I am doing. It’s thanks to the muscle relaxant that I take for my Cerebral Palsy and losing 30 lbs.
Lunch was fun. We had a good time. Then we went shopping and then drove to New West to show my friend our condo. It was messy and I wished I had had time to clean. I would have if I had known he was coming to view the condo.
When he was leaving to head down town, I hugged him, gave him a kiss and a giant smile. The one thing about being gay is that as a guy I can express my feeling more openly. I am not saying all gays are like this, but it does give one more leeway to express one’s feelings as a man. Funny, until I attended a retreat as a teen, I was much of a hugger – how far I have come.

Friends, for me they are my extended family. I may not always see or tell my friends how much I treasure them, but I do.
I hope you have a friend or friends who mean the same to
you.
—Robert Confiant 27 April 2019