Think about your friends. Who are they? Some people think of
everyone they know as a friend while others believe a friend
is only a friend if that person will help them out. Who are
your real friends? Not everyone can be a real friend. Some
friends who are just acquaintances are still enjoyable to be
around. They can help you appreciate what there is between
you and know it is just that.
I
think a friend is one who keeps in contact with you, calls
to say Hi, how are you even if you haven’t called them.
To me, a friend is concerned about your health and well being.
A friend is someone you feel you could trust with your life
and one you would do anything possible to help if they needed
it.
My wife and I are very grateful to have many real friends.
Friends we can count on if we need them and who know they can
count on us. Some friends would climb a mountain for us if
needed and expect nothing in return except friendship.
Our real friends invite us to join in their family activities.
They are the first to remember our birthdays and anniversaries
and often enjoy being part of our family get-togethers. I just
had a birthday and was reminded of how many real friends I
have.
A couple of very exceptional, real friends sent me my first
birthday card early because they knew they would be out of
state on my special day.
When
these friends learned I had a health problem that laid me
low for a while, a priority box, full of homemade
apple
cakes (made with homegrown apples), promptly arrived
in the mail – now that’s something everyone doesn’t
get.
Another
friend who had just lost a loved one remembered my birthday
with good wishes. This friend keeps in
contact with
my wife and me even though we don’t get to see each other
often. We are all comfortable discussing our life’s
highs and lows together, politics and, of course,
sports.
A lunch date every summer is a must and we can chat for hours,
even if we had just talked a short time before we met.
We have lots of friends we spend winters with in Florida who
are real friends. We pal around often, out to lunch and dinner,
rides on their boat, gather on patios to watch NASCAR. They
always help celebrate my birthday and any other event that
comes along. We spend our summers hundreds of miles apart but
come winter, we are together and start the fun all over again.
Friends
can be your friend or your partners and don’t
have to be friends with both of you. They can be close by or
half a world or country away. We had an old friend from Vermont
send a message just to say hello and tell us she was thinking
of both of us. Some old friends you don’t
get to see a lot but when you encounter them
the old
feelings of friendship
are still strong.
Family members are friends. They encourage us to be friends
with their friends, which expands the circle. Our children
and their spouses invite us to events all over the country
and we especially love that they invite us to dinner frequently.
We receive their good wishes each and every holiday and when
they can, they travel long distances just to spend a little
time with us. And, they often help us out when we really need
it.
I hope my comments reminded you of a friend you may have lost
touch with. Why not pick up the phone and give them a call
or send a note to remind them you are a real friend and you
care about them.
Remember, real friends are hard to come by and they are surly
among the greatest treasures a person can have.