I miss her

He asked us if we wanted him to take the picture for us. We declined. You see, we’ve always taken pictures this way. It’s our signature. Something we’ve been doing for 10 years and will most assuredly continue to do for at least another 50. And just like our friendship, these self-portraits have gotten better over time. There are no cut off heads, no unflattering angles, no weird placed limbs. It’s just two friends who love the camera, but who love each other even more.

Nikkie is one of my closest friends who moved to Japan a little over six months ago. I wrote all about it here. These past two weeks she has been stateside to attend her sister-in-law’s wedding and to visit her family and friends. The plan was to come to LA over the weekend where I would get to spend some quality time with her. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, plans changed…but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. If she couldn’t come to me, then I would go to her. So I finagled a day off practice and flew to Phoenix to spend less than 24 hours enjoying my friend. Nikkie tried to tell me that made me a good friend but I beg to differ. I think it shows what a good friend she is. It is never a sacrifice to be able to spend time with people you love; those people who make you a better person, who have continually been there for you to offer a shoulder or a laugh, and who give so much of themselves that you gladly accept the opportunity to reciprocate in the smallest of ways.

I spent the day not only remembering how much I love her, but also how much I miss her. She always has the best stories about nothing. I like that. I like the opportunity to be able to listen about everything going on in her life and feel like I am a part of it. She’s headed back to Japan now but I’ve made a vow to myself that I need to make the effort to talk to her more and make her a part of my everyday life just as if she were here. Because I just don’t feel complete without hearing stories about nothing.