I have some good friends that I've known for over ten years. I have some good friends that I've known for less than five years, but I'm pretty sure eventually it will be ten years, then fifteen.... I have other friends that I used to spend a lot of time with that have drifted away.
Sometimes I wonder what makes some friendships last, worth the effort of keeping while others seem to require too much effort to hold onto and so they float away.
Were the floaters just friends of convenience, of right time right place, but now it's not the right time, place, or convenience? Was it still a true friendship? I think it was still a true friendship. Sometimes we need people at certain times and don't need them later. Our life lines crossed but went different directions. It's not wrong or bad, it's just life.
The good friends that stick around for over ten years, that you still love to hang out with even if you haven't seen them for a month or two, must have something deeper and more solid in the friendship, even if you can't define what it is. They are the friends who just don't care what you look like or who you know or how much you can give them. They are the friends who can tell you the silly things they did because they figure you probably did them too, or at least would understand why they did it.
Maintaining these friendships doesn't seem to require as much effort, though distance can make it harder to see each other physically. There are still phone calls, texts, emails, blogs, and social networking to stay in contact. These friends make you want to stay in contact, to make an effort to hangout. But they also know if you don't call them for a month you still love them and are just busy with life.
I'm grateful for my good friends, grateful that I have multiple good friends, and grateful that some are family also. I know everyone doesn't have long time friends, but everyone can become a long time friend by being a good friend and caring about others. Hold on to the friends that will last for years.
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