Friends

When I look back through my life, I'm amazed at the amount of friends I've had. More than that though, I'm amazed at how many people I've lost track of over the years and wonder what's going on in their lives. I suppose that's what high school reunions are for, but what do you do about the people you didn't go to school with? What kind of a plan is there to reconnect with them? I mean, there are a lot of tools now to find people you've lost touch with and such, but for most people I've lost contact with it's more the curiousity than the actual drive to re-establish a relationship - not exactly something I'm going to pursue.

If I really look at the people with whom I'm friends now, I can see being friends with them for the rest of my life. This is especially true for the people who have stood the test of time and been able to satisfy my needs in many different phases of my life. Those are the truly special people. I'm not talking about acquaintances here; everyone has acquaintances, and I think we all know who those people are. They can move up to become full-fledged friends, but usually they are the ones who slip away quietly and one day we say to ourselves, "hmmm, wonder what's going on with so-and-so these days..." and the thought ends there.

But true friends are the ones who have been on the other end of the phone with you when you were crying about some boy; the ones who remind you that you're special even when you feel like crap on the bottom of a shoe; the ones who take you back even if you've been nasty on a bad day; the ones with whom you can share a hardy laugh about something that no one else on earth would understand; and certainly the ones who love you enough to put up with your shortcomings.

I may not see or speak to these people daily, weekly, or even monthly, but they are my soul mates. They are the people who remind me who I am, where I came from, and where I'm going. They represent many facets in my life and make things worthwhile. To those people, I'd like to say thank you and let you know that I appreciate everything you are to me.