This post has been a while coming. My whole life has been in preparation for it I guess you could say. From young ages we make friends, the best of friends, that we believe will last forever. Nothing could break that bond that we have. But as time passes inevitably things cannot stay the same. People change, they grow and become different people. Experiences and life choices change the path of our lives and so we say goodbye to some friends. But although we say goodbye we are left with a gift. Encased in something precious and beautiful we can keep those memories for the rest of our lives. We can revisit them anytime that we like and will always know how to find them. For they live forever in our hearts. Kinda cheesy but true and a nice reminder of the life we’ve lived.

Now not all friendships are unable to whether the storm. Some friendships help us to find our way and the really great ones have been there and come back, they’ve proudly given us anything we need and lent a helping hand. Those friendships are the best kind and also the most rare. The ones that have allowed growth, space where it was needed, a shoulder to cry on and most of all brutal honesty when no one else would.

I have never had many friends in my life. My quiet nature has made me a little shy to open up to people, but when you’re small making friends comes naturally. There is hardly a shy bone in your body and there is no end to the amount of friends you can make- and that’s how it should be. Whether it’s at school or a playground, we come home with a new best friend. We’ve bonded over a shared love of activities or even snacks. When you’re young there is nothing to big or too small to build a friendship over. Childhood is a wonderful time when there are no rules, we are simply ourselves and we know nothing else. If only we could become older and not lose certain things about childhood maybe the world would be a better place. But that is just a dream and unfortunately will remain that way. But I think we could all use a reminder of what is it is to be a child, in the way that we make friends, trust each other and share our innermost secrets without fear of judgment.

Friendship is not something you can seek out or force. That’s what make it special and what makes it true. We find friends in the most unexpected places at times and possibly in the most unexpected people. My most enduring friendship of my life was with a friend I met at 4 or 5 years old. Throughout our 20 plus year friendship, we have been the best of friends, the worst of friends and lost touch. But two things have remained- we have never forgotten about each other and always forgave. We lost touch in high school, as many new friendships form and we try to figure out who we are. Which is usually who we think we are in high school but as we grow older we learn how little we really knew. So years later, past high school, college and for her marriage, we reconnected. We have grown and we have learned and although we don’t know what is to come I know we always be there for each other.

Now my best friend and the most incredible person I’ve met in my life is my fiancé. A bit of a cliche to say that your partner is your best friend, but he is. It’s truly amazing to know someone for a relatively short time in your life but to find how well suited you are for each other. Someone who you can be yourself with and despite all the flaws that you see, they couldn’t love you more. It was the most unexpected way to find someone, let alone my best friend. The one who I can be silly with, have jokes that only he gets and read each other’s mind. There are so many things that we are grateful for. Friendships don’t always come first, like ours it was built along, but is incredibly durable and true. He is the one who I confide in, lean on and will be there for him without a doubt. Without getting too sentimental I know I have a best friend for life-when you know you just know.

Friendships come in all shapes and sizes and in unexpected places. Like most great things, they come to us when we are not looking but when we need them most. They are a gift. Without friends in our lives we would be missing out on all life has to offer and it’s safe to say have a lot less fun! Friendships are worth the effort, they’re worth the late night sessions, worth fighting for and worth putting your pride aside and apologizing. So as we walk through life we don’t have to walk alone, there is a friend out there for everyone who needs one. It is a true that despite our best hopes, not all friendships will last forever. We may not be able to reconnect like I have or have a lifelong friendship. But, most importantly in spite of all the things we stand to lose, we will always be able to look back on fond memories and feel lucky for having someone we call a friend.

Until next time…