"I cherish these moments!"

Hey, remember those classic words from the movie, "Stand By Me"? those 4 kids were sitting around a campfire, smoking a few butts, and the chubby kid, (which would have been me, back in "the day") takes a hit, then dramatically says, "I cherish these moments", to which the other guys proceed to ride him till his wheels come off! Classic, classic. Anyway, I went to a men's retreat this weekend. But this was unlike any other retreat I've ever heard of. Mainly because I go to a great church, and after our evening meal and devotion, a few of us sat outside on the porch of the meeting room, and fired up a few stogies. My buddy, "D" had hooked me up with a 9 dollar cigar for my first time, and as the 6 or 7 of us sat around puffing away, we bonded over divorce stories, stories of lost loves and broken hearts, complained about work, and shared hopes and dreams for the future of our kids, and to some extent, ourselves. It was great, partly because we all knew that what is spoken at men's group stays at men's group, (except for my vague description here...)and maybe because for a little while we got to be kids again, without having to worry about our mom's coming around the side of the house to catch us smoking grapevines, or Lord forbid, real cigarettes! I forgot about needing to clean my kitchen, the weekly paperwork I blew off to get to the retreat on time, the extra time I needed to spend at the gym for the candy bar I ate, or the bills I need to pay. We just focused on "being", not "doing". I have some great friends in my men's group. Guys that don't judge others, but accept any who join in without question. They don't know it, but secretly, I want to be more like them. They accepted me at a time when I had very little to offer, and have supported my music over the last year or so. I hope I can be as good to them, as they have been to me.