What do you consider a 'friend'? To me, all of my friends are my 'best' friends. When I was a kid, I seen sets of two people that were best friends everywhere. I (who was very unpopular, and mostly unliked) wanted that soooo badly. So much in fact, that I was the sucker born every minute. Kids could get me to do just about anything with a few kind words. When puberty (and wild emotions) kicked in, I grew very cynical and mostly stayed away from everyone else. When I did start making friends, real ones, I never understood the one 'best friend' thing. They were all the best to me.
I meet people I like, not all the time, but anytime someone easy going comes around. But to me, that's not a friend, that's just a cool person I've met, with the potential to be my friend. I've heard the saying that the word love gets tossed around to easily, to me the word friend does too. Don't they mean the same thing? It's a person you plan to spend the rest of your life hanging out with, doing things for, sharing secrets, and sticking your neck out for, if, the opportunity should ever present itself. The only difference I see, is your not romping in the sheets like wild animals, and sometimes, that happens too.
I have a handful of best friends. <--Just typing that sentence right there, made me smile. If your one of those awesome people I choose to spend the rest of my natural (and unnatural at times) life with, I hope it made you smile as well. I love my friends, and unlike the 'love' we do toss around so carelessly, I know it's real. I can go without seeing one of my friends for years, and when they do pop up, it's like they never left. They can always be greeted with a warm smile, a big hug, and sit at the dinner table and never feel awkward for the time that's passed.
Earlier when I asked if you take your friends for granted, what I meant was; would you quit seeing your friend if someone asked you to? Would you steal from them, hurt them, make them feel bad, or anything else that would make them feel inadequate around you? If so, then your not a very good friend at all. It would be nice to say that all my friends get along with each other, and we are like one big family, but that's not the case (ah, in a perfect world it would be). Some of them actually despise one another, and can't believe I would choose to spend my time anywhere near their nemesis. But, I don't care, and I would never choose one over the other, EVER, and they would never ask me to (only question my sanity).
Over half of my friends are dudes, and I've had boyfriends that get jealous of hours logged with my dudely homies. Those guys never lasted long, or were quickly corrected on how to proceed if they wanted to stay. So much so, that as I got older, I would tell a 'romantic interest' ahead of time, that if they couldn't handle seeing me get along so famously with other guys, that maybe I wasn't the right fit for them.
I would gladly give my life for anyone of my friends, luckily, I've never had to (hence being able to type this blog), and they've never put me in a situation that called for that kind of extreme measure. At the same time, we all run into trouble every now and again, and do you know who they call? Ghostbusters! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. No, they call me, and anyone else they consider to be a true friend. I have also called any one of them depending on what exactly is going on. And luckily, I have such good friends, that they will drop just about anything they are doing and come running if it's required. My friends have such a great sense of loyalty, and know I feel it the same way for them. It seems that loyalty is hard to come by from anything other than a dog anymore, so when you find someone with a real grasp on what it means, they are a real treasure.
Friends are important to have. We have a real need for them. What makes friends so great, is that they aren't family. Family pretty much has to deal with you. Family, if on the other side, might not have chosen you as their friend, they were just placed there and grew with you, love was pre-installed. Friends don't have to like you. They don't have to hang out with you, or be nice, or do you any favors at all. They chose to be around you. They come into your life and make it better, and they come back because they WANT to. They like you, your ideas, or share common interests with you. Some of them don't even like the same crap you do, but still like you as a person.
We don't realize how important these connections are sometimes. Maybe we don't even realize that we are feeling love for our friends, because we connect that word to a family feeling, or a sexual one. Some of the most pure love I have ever felt has come from a friend. I can hear about something sad happening to one of my friends, and feel like I want to cry for them. If there in a bad mood, I will act like a complete idiot just to make them smile, and they'd do the same for me. When someone tells me they have this crazy number of friends, I wonder if they really even have one. We set the bar so low on friendships, that they seem like they are just friendly acquaintances we surround ourselves with. To me, that is sad, because I don't know where I'd be, or if I'd even be here at all, if it wasn't for my handful of best friends looking out for me. You know what they say..."keep your friends close, so they can pound the crap outta your enemies", or something like that.
If any of you guys are reading this, thank you for being my compadre, and putting up with my endless parade of crap and motormouthing.
P.S. It's not easy being cheesy.
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