by Ronda Claire

Created on: August 13, 2008   Last Updated: August 19, 2008

Friends

When we are young everyone we meet is our friend. Those we develop a closer relationship to become our "best friends" and until that moment when something causes a rift and communication stops. At that point we are "never going to speak to" him or her again - until a day or two later when we would all be out playing together again.

At a young age I learned the difference between the words "friend" and "acquaintance" while visiting my grandmother. She was getting ready to go out for the afternoon with some friends. I asked if they were a couple I knew and she said, "no, they are acquaintances These people are friends."

She explained that she'd known this couple for years and years and they had a close relationship, but the others, though dear to her, were not on the same level of closeness and therefore were her acquaintances.

This is where I started to determine who in my life at that time was my friend and who was an acquaintance. I no longer took the word "friend" at face value. Someone had to touch my heart to be considered my friend. Those who did not, even though I might like them as much, were considered acquaintances Since then, though many people have called me their friend, I have not considered every one of them to be my friend. Not that I'd ever let them know it.

I am very picky about who is allowed into my inner circle, the most private part of my life. These are people I can tell anything to and think nothing of it later on. People I can share something private with and not think later "omyGod I wish I hadn't said that" or remember something with humor instead of embarrassment or even a touch of sadness.

Throughout life we meet many people, some of whom become friends, few of whom become best friends. A best friend is someone who knows where you come from, where you are and doesn't care. If you don't have a fancy car, if your house could be in a better neighborhood, if your income could be a little better, a best friend doesn't care. This special friendship is based on kindness, trust, honesty and love for you as a person. These are rare people and the relationships are even more rare.

I was blessed with such a friend. Though she was only in my life 17 years, she accepted me and my faults and rarely said an unkind word. We were, to each other, the sister the other one never had. We were three years apart, which was humorous at times when I'd recall something from "when we were growing up" and she'd give me a puzzled "what ARE you talking about?" look.

We shared a friendship that had moments so deeply sad that one would think it would perish, and moments of such happiness and fun that the strength of the bond would never be broken. We became part of one another like sisters do; sharing silliness, secrets and having verbal disagreements that would have torn others apart just by the depths of the arguments.

A relationship/friendship such as this is so incredibly rare that it must be cherished for all it is worth.

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