Wednesday at the Bar.

At the end of today, I have completed my first court trial as a juror. It's an experience that was stretching, emotionally exhausting, and an affirmation of participating in adulthood. I'm wiped out. Tired. Emotionally spent. And it's not even 10 p.m.

However, I am incredibly grateful for folks who are learning to love me well, and are simply present when I need 'em. After leaving the court house today, I grabbed some lunch and just needed to decompress. To Fresno Brewing Company, I went. I knew there'd be a few folks, but most importantly, I could count on Ephiram to greet me with a smile and a big hug. And he'd be kind enough to grab me a cold drink too.

What I loved the most about my afternoon, was hanging out with Tom. Tom is the 'fix-it' guy around Fresno Brewing Company and Fulton Cycle Works, and just a genuinely nice guy. He grew up in the 60s (I say this so you'll know how cool and mellow he is), and is the perfect guy to sit next to when you just want to hang out.

I learned a lot about Tom today. We've done the 'hey, how are you?' and 'see you later!', but I'd never really known much about Tom at all. We changed that today. From the really generic, 'what are your hobbies?' to 'how did you learn how to fix everything?' to learning more of Tom's spiritual background and why he's so freakin' cool. It was great to sit with Tom, have him offer to teach me to fix stuff too (I'm controlling my excitement over here!) as well as play the guitar. He's quickly becoming a go-to friend.

At one point, I couldn't help but smile as I was surrounded by my friends: Steve, Ephiram, (me), Tom, Mike, and Jamin. I remembered college, being surrounded like that.  Being in the middle of  a group of men I love, who love me, and who remind me I'm just where I need to be.