I don't like today...

Not today in particular, but today, Apr 11th, every year.  It's a day that I'm reminded of past friendships and the eternal damage that my mother has done with her addictions.  Growing up my mother had a best friend with whom she was inseparable and whose children were the same age as me and my brother.  We all did everything together; pool parties, christmas present exchanges and vacations at the beach every year.  From the moment I was born to the spring of my 16th year our families were staples in each others' lives.  That infamous spring brought the height of my mother's addictions and the break of her friendship with her best friend.  I won't go into details but things between my mother and her best friend were never to be repaired. I was only 16 when all of this happened but I still regret not trying to remain in touch with what really was a second family to me as I was growing up.  I know at the time I had trouble grasping what was happening around me, but still, a regret is a regret.  Today is their oldest son's and my onetime friend's birthday.