Playmates

It is hard to describe affection in today's world of sex, sex, sex. Not that there is anything wrong with sex, just that there are a lot of relationships not built around it.

It is totally possible to respect, have fun with, adore and like spending time with, writing to, or talking with someone without believing that one day you will fall into bed together and experience mad passionate sex.

People seem to have an especially difficult time believing this if the two people involved are of different sexes, but I happen to know, absolutely and for a fact, that good friends come in all shapes, sizes and genders and I am no more a threat to one than the other.

Honestly, I have many of the same thoughts now that I had as a healthy little preschooler, but I am a lot less likely to act on them. I still believe in hugs and kisses. I still like holding hands. I love talking to someone with a like mind and I wish I did not have to worry that people would misread these actions, thinking them to be something they are not.

As sweet as it is to have a lover, I need friends in my life, good friends, more. The kind you can whisper your secrets too and know they will be heard and released without judgment, or rancor of any sort. In a culture that considers even breast feeding mothers a sexual sight, it is rare to be allowed the freedom and gift of pure friendship.

But a gift it is.