It is nice that someone still likes you

I was in college

and was sleeping deeply in my dorm room bed

after a rough day of classes.

Suddenly,

I heard the door open

and light from the hallway streamed in.

My best friend and roommate

was standing there unsteadily.

His girlfriend had broken up with him

earlier that day

and he had spent the evening

downtown in a bar

trying to drown his sorrows with 13 whiskey sours.

I got up

and helped him to climb up into the bunk bed

above me.

He didn’t look so good.

His face was whiter than normal

and he could barely walk.

After fending off some idiots on our floor

who tried to get him to go back downtown

for more drinking

I finally got him to lay down.

After a minute

he said he was going to be sick.

I managed to get him to the bathroom

down the hall

but he couldn’t throw up.

I walked him slowly back to bed

and got him into the top bunk again.

I was just about to drift back off to sleep

when I heard it:

retching followed by 13 whiskey sours

splashing on his sheets.

I got him off the bed again,

stripped his sheets

and helped him back up once more.

I was wary of another splash down

but soon

I heard his gentle snoring.

I couldn’t really be mad at him, though.

After all,

he just wanted what we all wanted:

“To be Loved.”

Over the decades that followed

I started to realize a few things too.

I learned that

the best way to be loved

was to be loving.

And I learned that

the best way to be loving

was to realize that

you were already loved.

Open your life

and let your love out.

The greatest gift we can ever get

is to be loved

and the greatest gift we can ever give

is to be loving.

And the truth is,

they are one and the same.