My BFF is Awesome

So, probably, by the "standards" of the general public, I have a pretty unconventional best friend.  Why?  Well, he's my ex-boyfriend.  People don't really seem to get the whole thing.  And that's ok.  We totally understand why it's weird for people.  I mean, doesn't everyone, at the end of some relationship say, "I hope we can still be friends?"  It might not last long, or it might not happen at all, but I feel like everyone at some point has uttered those words mid-break-up-discussion.  For Justin and I, it worked.  And it has continued to work for us.  It hasn't always been easy, like right after we broke up and I was devastated, or when he had a girlfriend who hated me (I think she hated the idea of me, actually, because she never even bothered to get to know me).  And things have gotten confusing, like when he invited me to go to Maui with his family and we got, um, swept away by the romance of it all (I mean, hello, we're on Maui, on the beach, with those sunsets....?).  But we've pushed through it and managed to figure it out and every time we come out on top, close as ever.

Here we are, 6 years ago, in Maui

He's married now, to a girl who I absolutely adore.  She's the perfect match for him and I see how truly happy he is, which makes me like her even more.  Her mother was just diagnosed with breast cancer and is starting chemo.  So Justin, being the awesome kind of guy he is, shaved his head.

You have to understand.  When I first met him, his hair was long (I tried to find a picture but have been unsuccessful so far).  Like, almost to his shoulders.  It was long and thick and wavy and beautiful, and when we were dating, I was obsessed with it.  One day, he cut it, and I actually cried.  He's kept it short since (which was 11 years ago now).  Until this week, when he shaved it to show solidarity with his new mother-in-law.  He is seriously 7 shades of awesome, and I just love him.