The Art of Friendship...

I know people who have dozens upon dozens of friends, and not just "facebook friends;" but people that they actually talk to and hang out with on a regular basis.

I am not one of those people. I have a small handful of close friends that chat and spend time with. I find it amazing that some people can maintain friendships with so many people...

Two things come to mind when I think about friendship. One: when I started therapy 2 years ago, one of my goals was to have close female friends. I always had an easy time making guy friends, but I really felt like I needed a little more estrogen support. I am so happy to say now that I have several close gal pals! I can't imagine my every day life without their friendship, and I can't describe the difference it has made having my girlfriends in my life. (This is not to say my guy friends aren't awesome. They are. It's just that girls are a different sort of awesomeness that cannot be understood, only experienced.)

Two: friendship should never require promises...I think about friends that I have had in the past who said that they would always be there for me; friends who promised we would "always be friends." Typically, this type of friendship goes one of two ways: 1)life carries you two in separate directions, but you know that if you ever need someone to talk to you can call your old friend even though you haven't talked in eons...or 2) life carries you two in separate directions and the friendship disappears and you become merely acquaintances.

I have both types of friendships in my life. It's amazing to think that I have a friend that I made in kindergarten (was that when we met Stacy??)--and we still keep up with each other's lives. But it is also very sad that I have people that I barely ever hear from that used to be my best friends.

It happens. Life does pull us each in different directions, and that's ok. Sometimes friends are just put into our lives in a particular moment because we need them in that moment--or they have something to teach us that we need from that moment on...

Friendship is an art form. Being able to be a friend and have friends can become such a juggling act.

Fortunately, I married my very bestest friend. So I get to spend most of my time maintaining that friendship--and it's fun! But I still am very thankful for the other friends in my life, whether we chat weekly or yearly--I know each one has a very special contribution to the fullness of my life.