Today's subject...Best Friends

There are thousands of people that we encounter throughout our lifetime. Out of those, only a few hundred make an impact. From those few hundred, only a small percentage influences us to the point where we make a change for the better in our lives. The term "Best Friend" has been used for some time now to separate those we feel adhere to the rules of regular friendship versus über friendship. My thoughts this week have been filled with the term best friend, and struggling to define this honored title.

In an effort to define what makes someone become “best” in friend status I am forced to think about my own best friends. What characteristics do they possess that granted this this distinction?

Over time I have had several best friends, when I was in kindergarten it was my neighbor’s grand-daughter, Alisha. We used to play together almost every day after school and on the weekends. I have memories of us putting pennies on the railroad tracks by her house, playing at the park down in the cul-de-sac when the firemen would come to flush out the hydrants and building snowmen in every yard on the block when the snow fell for the first time. She was my best friend because she always wanted to play, and we wanted to play the same games.

My next best friend was in elementary school, Erin. We used to roller blade in her basement, sled in her back yard, ride horses in the summer, swim in the pool, tag-a-long on cabin and boat trips and so much more. She was my best friend because she showed enthusiasm for my ideas, and we would spend hours creating new games and adventures. She listened to me complain about my petty quarrels with my sisters and any other daunting issue any 4^th grader would have.

Then in Jr. High, I made a few new best friends, Molly and Kelly. We would celebrate when a boy asked us to the dances, cry together when they decided to take another girl, create schemes and games to play on the weekend sleepovers and call the boys we crushed on to see if they thought any of us were cute. I loved these girls because at a time when I was not comfortable with myself-they still loved me for who I was and who I was turning into.

Molly held the title of best friend the longest. We really got close since were on the same dance team. We would spend every day together. Carpooling in the morning on the way to class, since now we could drive, gossiping about the girls we didn’t like. We would sneak out, stay out late and try to get as much attention as we could from the upper classmen. My High School best friend was amazing because she was kind, attentive, fun and beautiful.

In college, my best friend Jackie was funny, outgoing and was the life of the party! She taught me how to live life single girl style without giving a second thought on what other's opinions of me were. She loved me after every “what did we do last night?” morning.

Today when I reflect on all of these girls and what they had to do to earn the title of Best Friend for that time, it amazes me to think the things I loved most about them are essential to the necessary criteria for “best friend hood” in my adult life.

Now, my best friend is always open to do the same activities. She shows enthusiasm for my ideas, even the dumb ones. She listens to me complain about my petty quarrels and provides me with a voice of reason. At times when I was not comfortable with myself-she still loves me for who I am. I can tell her everything and she listens without judgment, only complete acceptance of me.

 I never really knew the amount of love and respect I have for her until this week. I had to see her lose her job after being a loyal employee. In a situation that would have forced even the most calm and collect individual to lose their cool, she maintained professionalism and dignity as she walked out of the building. She was the very definition of classy and the rawness of her absence still resonates in the air. 

So what makes a friend the best? I've realized this week that if they are a good person when no one is watching, they treat themselves and those around them with respect and the way they handle themselves when things aren’t so great. It’s those characteristics that make someone the best-the friend part... anyone can do.