Friends Thanksgiving

One of my favorite songs is from the musical "Wicked." The lyrics in "For Good" tell the story of friendship, sometimes unexpected, but always valuable:

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

A group of my junior/high school buddies remains together after all these (gulp) decades, and we celebrated our longevity last weekend at our 24th (double gulp) annual Friends Thanksgiving. We pretty much invented the holiday, and take full credit for the abundance of similar friend get-togethers during Thanksgiving. But, honestly. we are a little snobby about the whole thing and would never refer to our event as Friendsgiving. Way too millennial for our group of Gen-Xers.

Another year of Friends Thanksgiving, and another year we celebrated one another over good food and wine.