ONE mark of a good friendship is reliability — knowing you can depend on each other no matter what. There are friends we hardly see because of distance or conflicting schedules. But when we do make the time to sit down with them, it feels like we just saw them yesterday. The conversations flow smoothly after “how are you’s” are exchanged. There is no hint of awkwardness despite not seeing each other face to face in ages. Have you ever felt this way? That when you meet up, BOOM!, you are reminded of why you clicked so well in the first place.
Sometimes I take this for granted. I think, know and feel that my truest of friends will be there for me no matter what. I understand that they’re immensely busy with their own lives, as I am with mine, so meet-ups get rarer. At the back of our minds, we all know that when we need each other, we’ll be there. No doubt about that.
But why wait for that time of need? Pick up your phone and give that friend a call. Make those “how are you’s” more frequent, even if it’s just over the phone, or a quick e-mail. A 5-minute chat or a 5-minute e-mail is a fast but thoughtful way to keep each other feeling extra cared for within this already special bond of yours.
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” one quote says. But another also goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” While the truest of friendships takes less maintenance than others, it needs the most nurturing.
April 14th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
…very true, indeed.