ahh, friendship!

story by | jodie harvala

It is so fun to watch young kids with a new friend. The excitement in their voice as they proclaim, ‘Hey that’s my friend, Molly!” is priceless. And the ease in which they make a new friend is enviable. If only we all had the confidence to just walk up to another person and ask, “wanna be my friend?” The excitement of friendship doesn’t end with childhood. It evolves through the years.

Adolescence marks the transitions of friendship moving to the top of the priority list. All of a sudden our family is embarrassing and annoying and our friends are by far the most important part of our life. Appearance, behavior and actions are all driven by what our friends will think and what will impress them. Recently, I joined Facebook along with many of my high school classmates. We have all become ‘friends’ and I can’t help but wonder, if we were back in high school, would we all connect like this?

Through the years our friends fall into different categories:

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• those we have literally known forever those we met after leaving home and before kids those we met because of our kids those that entered our life out of nowhere

Our different friends are familiar with the life events that make you, you. Some know all the crazy stuff you did, the boys you kissed, the nights you skinny dipped or the shy girl you were in high school before you found your voice! Some know how sad you were after your first broken heart or how excited you were when you met your husband. Some were the second person you told you were pregnant (gotta tell daddy first) or the first person you needed to talk to when you lost a parent. And only a few know anything about that high school crush you pray joins Facebook so you can see what he looks like now!

It’s inevitable that friendships evolve and change throughout our life. As we grow up, we still want to be cool and we worry what others will think. I don’t know if we ever out grow that, but now we care more about real friendship and we understand we have the power to choose our friends. Your real friends don’t care what car you drive, which house you live in or what you do for a living. They simply just care about your happiness and that of your family. They are just there any and every time you need help, a smile, a shoulder to cry on, an ear just to listen or a swift kick in the rear to tell you the truth you really don’t want to hear.

Busy. Everyone is busy and there never seems to be enough time in the day, but do yourself a favor… schedule your friends in. Make it a priority! Friendship is something to be cherished, celebrated and cultivated! If you find yourself missing your friends, do something about it! Plan a night out together and for that friend you think about often, but haven’t kept in touch with, pick up the phone.

True friendship is something to hold on to. A friend is someone that holds you in a space of love and sees the best of you even when you can’t see it yourself. They have a part of your heart. So now is the time—the time to invest a little more in your friendships and laugh and love each other. After all, “every girl needs a good friend and a glass of wine.” photography by | rialee photography