They're just here.

Friends I mean. Sometimes it's all that's needed, that they're here for me. Sunday we went to a local brewery. Rather spontaneously. Things came together and there we were, with the most amazing view on the mountain Cotacachi and the valley in front of it.

We've all grown quite close over time. One I know for over 8 years now, we even lived together as roommates for a while. The other come as a couple. We all have kids the age of 9, 7 and 5 that get along very well. Last December we took the same flight back to Amsterdam, before each taking their respective connection to their destination airport. It was great to travel together.

There's something about being expats together, coming from the same culture and clashing with the same culture. But it's not only that. I really felt the support that afternoon. I felt their love. Their concern.

It's them being aware of my situation, of that subtle, but constant pain that stings my heart. Aware how my way of handling the situation, aware of my mood. We didn't really talk about Lily being away nor about her mother, but about everything else.

Which is great because I have the feeling that I talk about it too much already. And I write about it too much. Of course, it's present in my life, so it sneaks itself into every post I write. There's always some correlation to everything.

I drank a little too much, I admit. And homebrew is always a little heavier in the head than industrial beer. Also more delicious... but 7,7% against 4,2%? And my thirst was the same. That didn't help.

As you can see, I went away from the table a few times to indulge into photography. Nature did most of it, but I did crawl on my knees a few times to get the right shot, and it was worth it. At least I think so.

Sunsets are always something special, but with this view? It was hard not to take a good picture. Though I think my lense had a little dust or fat on it, as the light seemed to leave more lines than usually.

It was a great feeling overall. One of my friends invited all of us, and although I can pay for myself - it does feel good to be treated to it these days. The legal stuff is rather expensive and I'm trying to stem it by myself for now. I always have my family to back me up, as well as many friends. But I try not to need them, so suddenly being invited to a 15$ bill doesn't change the world, but the feeling - they're there for me in that, too.

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As always, any feedback and especially tips and tricks are very welcome! As long as it's not AI generated content or comment spamming... 😅

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Thank you for stopping by!

All pictures are taken by myself with a Motorola Edge 60 Pro and I reserve the copyright - but you're welcome to ask if you'd like to use one of the pics!