Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and I was thankful for my friends.

I have the best circle possible. Brilliant, creative, thoughtful, empathetic, generous. I’ve done little to deserve such friends, so all I can do is be grateful for the stroke of blinding good luck that brought me into their orbit.

I have failed at much in life, but the friends category I win going away.

Today is Black Friday, so let me share what I’m ungrateful for.

Most in my circle (not quite all, mercifully) live a thousand miles away or more, and I never get to see them, enjoy a dinner, have a beer, talk. I’m not there to help when they’re in crisis, nor are they here when, as now, I am. Some I’ve never even met face to face.

Our mobile society has made it possible for me to achieve so much more than I ever could have back in NC. I’m an exile, but have finally found my place, my home, here in Colorado, and am happy beyond words for it. And digital communication allows me to stay in touch across the miles. It’s not the same as being together physically, but it’s far better than nothing. There are wonderful, life changing developments.

But I am not unaware of the costs.