Hearing the news.

Another friend is almost engaged.

I knew it would happen, he would have to get engaged sooner or later. Now he is almost engaged and it felt like I expected. Ah la Julia Roberts in “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” Except we never had a pact to marry each other if, by the age of 30, we were unmarried. And I have no intention of proclaiming my undying love to him after the rehearsal dinner. However, the way the wind gets knocked out of you when you hear something shocking–that is how it felt. Not a knock-out, not like other engagements, but a gasp of air.

A certain, “your life is changing forever which means mine is too.” A certain, “now who’s going to be my best friend since freshman year of college?” A little bit of, “what do you mean you’re getting married before me?” And eventually a good dose of, “No, really, it’s great news and I’m happy for you.”

I really am happy for you, but I don’t think she’ll want me to call at 2:00am when something goes horribly wrong in my life. Or even when something goes horribly right. It changes everything.

Congratulations on almost being engaged.