With age comes wisdom. (Well, there’s one good thing about getting older.)  🙂 Getting older has helped me realize what is important to me in my friendships. Everyone has different needs. Ideally, we will be able to find friends that have the same expectations and needs that we do.

I feel silly saying this but only a few years ago did I realize that not everyone will like me or want to be my friend, nor I everyone else. And this is okay. 

With our friendships, it is important to recognize what our needs are, have the confidence to ask for them, and the courage to let the relationship go if it isn’t working.  For me, my friendships are a very important part of my life. But just like any relationship, the good ones take work.

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I see friendship on a continuum.

Some are on the far left. These are people who have fallen out of my life for one reason or another. Maybe we realized our friendship needs are too different or maybe they have just faded away. I still have love for these friends but they are not really a part of my life.

Then a little bit further in on the continuum are the friends that live far away and we rarely see each other but we still maintain a connection.

Then closer to the middle are the friends I see socially. We have things in common and enjoy each other’s company but we never really share what’s in our heart.

Then the people just right of the middle. I adore them. I have fun with them. We always have things to talk about. Sometimes we will share our troubles; parenting woes or life struggles, but it never gets too deep.

Then there are the ones on the far right. The rocks. The ones that it would take a tsunami to remove them from my life. The ones I have shared my deepest self with. The one’s that are privy to the good, the bad and the ugly.

With my friends that are midland and to the right on the continuum, there is a mutual feeling of importance. We value one another. Even if we don’t see or talk to each other very often, we never have to wonder about our commitment to each other. There is never a doubt that I am a priority in their lives and vice versa.

For me, this is crucial.

These girlfriends renew me. They are my life preservers. They sustain me and without their friendship I would surely drown.

Basically, life is too short for crappy friends.

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What is important to you in your friendships?

Salty Friendly Kisses,

Karen