The fall is birthday season in my life, so I have been thinking about the kind of friend I am, and the kind of friend I am not. I am not a friend who often remembers to send cards - and will often forget birthdays. I don’t make crafty gifts and pin photos of them to the Internet. I often feel badly for not being creative and thoughtful like so many wonderful friends are.
What kind of friend am I then? I’m the friend that invites you to move in with them when you go through a heart- wrenching breakup and are so sad you can’t even take care of yourself. If I haven’t seen or spoken to you in a decade, I will still take you in, and make you tea and whiskey and find good junk tv. I’m the friend you call when you find yourself in love with
a married man because I won’t judge you - I will just try to listen and understand. I’m the friend you come to with secrets - dark ones - because nothing shocks me or makes me think less of you. I’m the friend who will trash talk your ex-boyfriend when we run into him on
the street and you aren’t quite sure what to say - I will make sure he knows he missed out big time. I’m the friend who will seek justice on your behalf if you are betrayed or hurt by another, and make it my mission to seek vengeance on your enemies. I’m the friend you come to when you need to cry until you can’t breathe anymore, and I will stroke your hair. And then, when your sobs become whimpers, I will hand you a tissue and sit quietly until its time to make a joke.
So you might not get cupcakes from a friend like me, but you will get a piece of my heart and my soul - and loyalty for a lifetime. I’m not the perfect friend all the time, but my friendship has a unique flavor and style. I’m so grateful for my friends - the ones who send cards and the ones who don’t. We all need different kinds of friends in our lives. What kind of friend are you? Do you celebrate it?
