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“I just really like my own company. And wine.”

Before I get to the brilliant mind behind that quote, some backstory…

I live across the street from an elementary school. On Valentine’s Day they strung up these red cardboard hearts all over the trees in the playground. They’ve left the hearts up for three weeks now, and I love gazing out my office window at them, fluttering in the breeze, weathering the snow, the freezing rain, the fierce winds, and everything else this winter has thrown at us here in Montreal.

When I see these little hearts stretched across the trees’ branches, I think of my close friends who are spread out over three different continents, each a tiny heart in my tree, each on a branch of her own, separated by air and yet connected to me all the same.

There’s Vappz, of course, in Australia.

There’s Nicky in bonnie Scotland.

And then there’s Sam in Argentina.

None of these lovely ladies have ever met, and yet they all share so much in common. It is eerie how similar they are: one time Nicky emailed me a link to a cat café in Montreal. Within the hour, Vappz sent me the same link. I am positive Sam would have done the same, but to give her credit, she’s 10 hours behind Vappz and 3 hours behind Nicky; it’s not her fault.

I wish I could fly everyone to a central meeting place and introduce Vappz, Nicky, and Sam to one another. I triangulated their locations to see what the central meeting place would be. Unfortunately, it is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the Canadian government advises against travelling to for non-essential reasons. Mind you, Vappz, with her relaxed attitude to life, would totally be up for it. Sam would want to go, too, as it’s a country she’s never visited before. And Nicky would probably argue that this is an essential trip.

These friendships of mine have ebbed and flowed, they’ve fluttered in the breeze, they’ve weathered the storms of distance, of physical separation.

Which brings us back to this: “I just really like my own company. And wine.”

It was Sam who said this, but it could just as easily have been Vappz or Nicky. What I admire about these wonderful women is their ability to be just as comfortable on their own as they are with friends. They are all independent souls.

Today’s track is by Montreal artist A K U A. I first heard her when she opened for Solange in Montreal last July. Apparently Solange was so taken with A K U A’s talent that she invited her to be a backup singer for the rest of Solange’s North American tour.

This song truly embodies the spirit of Vappz, Nicky, and Sam – three little hearts on my tree of love!

“One’s Company” by A K U A