I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still, or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey who's conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
~Shawshank Redemption

Tonight I’m heading up to Chicago, to fly out first thing in the morning for Ixtapa,. Which for those of you geographically challenged folks (like me) is located in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Thus explaining the above quote. If it still doesn’t make sense, then you need to watch more movies.

I'm going to Mexico for a wedding of one of my oldest, closest friends- Craig. It’s funny the emotions I’m feeling today. I’m really excited. I’m having a hard time focusing. But along with that excitement however is a serious dose of nostalgia. I guess I felt this way with Chaddy and Nic’s wedding too, so it shouldn’t be as surprising to me as it’s been. I love Craig, and I’m incredibly happy for he and Brenda. It’s just funny the things that you remember when an old friend is getting married. I remember when I asked Craig to go with me in 5th grade. Somehow K-4 I never had Chad or Craig in my class. So that was the year I learned to tell the difference between them. And obviously the year I developed a crush on Craig. He turned me down, and I still tease him that I’m scarred to this day for that rejection. I just have so many memories with those guys. If I remember correctly, when we went to visit him in Iowa, it was the first- and only time I drank underage. And I remember he and I camping with Joseph’s older brother and his girlfriend at the time. (I’m still not quite sure how that group of 4 ended up camping together…) And I remember Craig and I hanging out one night, and ending up sitting on the bed of his truck in my driveway talking till the sun was coming up the next morning because we’d had so much coffee. I remember the bet, and his loss of the bet. (It's a strange thing to apply makeup to a guy, and I have to say that Craig looks fabulous in a crushed velvet dress…) There are so many things I remember, and when you’ve been close friends with someone, or these someone’s the way I have been with these guys, I could tell stories for days. I love them all, and I’m so incredibly blessed to have them in my life. Even with Craig a thousand miles away, I often think of things that I’d like to tell him. I’m so happy he found someone like Brenda to share his life with. I know that they’re going to be incredibly happy together. It’s just funny sometimes how things turn out.