. . . to Reflect on Friendships

When we are young, we think that our current “BFF” will be just that – Best Friend Forever.  Rarely does life work out that way.  Your best friend from elementary school may still be a friend, but are they still your best friend?

I have had a few best friends in my life.  A few are still friends but most are no longer part of my life.

We have MS who I was close to in elementary school.  We did a lot together.  There was a core group that got together often.  Once junior high school came around, those friends went away.

Next was MN who was like a sister to me from junior high well into our adult life.  We wrote letters then emails often and spoke on the phone a lot even though we lived in different states.  As young teenagers, we survived boyfriends who didn’t like each other but that didn’t follow through to our adult life.  The loss of her friendship was devastating to me.  It happened at a horrible time in my life when I needed her the most.  We did not communicate for several years.  I reached out and we are now Facebook friends.

Through my (now ex-) husband, I met his coworker, NX.  We were very close.  We liked the same things and went out often.  We had lunch almost daily and spoke on the phone often.  My life took a drastic turn (one that I hadn’t thought that I wanted and certainly wasn’t looking for) and that seemed to be too much for her.  She just dropped out of my life.  She called me a few years later.  I think that she wanted to apologize but those words weren’t spoken.  I may have been too happy to hear from her because I missed her so much.  Whatever the reason, I haven’t heard from her in over 10 years.

My true BFF if my husband.  He is the one that I want to talk to whenever anything good or bad happens.  He is the one that I want to spend time with.  He is the one who keeps my secrets (he better!!!).  He is the one who calms me down, excites me, makes me happy just being with him, and he’s really wise so he’s a great sounding board.

Friends come and go.  So do spouses/significant others.  When you find that one person who is there through thick and thin, good and bad, happy and sad, and those boring moments, hold on tight to them.  They may not be there always but everyone comes into your life for a reason.