Best Friends

I can imagine that pretty much all of us has friends or at the very least we have acquaintances . There are vast difference between the two, you know, but I am not going to sit here and explain those differences to you. I figure you should know what those differences are. What I am going to talk about, as you can tell by the title, is "Best Friends,"

Is a best friend defined by how well you know one another? Are they defined by how long you've known one another? Do you decide on their "Best Friend" status by how much the two of you have been through together? What exactly is the criteria for achieving this honor?

I have often wondered about this very thing, as I am a woman whom, I believe, is one of the extremely lucky ones in that I have more than one friend whom falls into several of the above catagories. Does this necessairly make them a "Best Friend?" And is the title of "Best Friend" such an impressive one and so coveted; do people vie for it to the point of feeling jealous if they aren't lifted to that status; that this otherwise perfectly wonderful person will feel less than adequite if they aren't told they are your "Best friend?" How terrifying to have that much power over someone that you love. I suppose we all have more power than we would like when it comes to our friends and most of the time, we don't even realize it. My friends are so important to me that I would rather die than hurt any of them and I would never knowingly, on purpose hurt any one of them for anything in the world. Each of them, in their own way is so special they deserve to have their very own tribute but the thought of that task scares the hell out of me. What if I were to write a tribute to them and they compared them and one was better than the other? What if I forgot and left out some very important fact about one of them? When I first sat down here with this idea of a "Friends Tribute" it was a pretty good idea, I thought. But the more I am thinking about it the more i am sure this idea stinks badly. To tribute all of them is a disaster in the making.....but to tell you about one, hmmmmmm which one do I pick? Do I pick the funniest? Should I pick the smartest? How about the one who is most thoughtful? How about if I tell you about the friend I have that I have known the longest? I don't even have to think about that one. I've known Cheryl ever since I was 9 years old. We've come a long way since 1963 and Mrs. Baron's 4th grade class and a lot has changed since then, too. But one thing has remained consistent; Cheryl and I have stayed "Best Friends." Oh, there were years that we lost track of one another and then we'd run into each other and our friendship would pick up right where it left off. During the past 42 years we have shared many many secrets, gone through many changes, we've fought like sisters and made up again. We've raised kids together and watched them marry and have kids of their own. Now, we are grandmothers together. The two of us have come nearly full circle. We used to always say that when we grew up we would share an apartment and grow old together. I think we should hurry.....we're almost old! She sent me a picture frame recently and on it were two old ladies and a saying I shall cherish for the rest of my days, "If we should live to 103, Best Friends we shall always be."

My thoughts exactly.

When I look back on years gone by

It seems you were always there

My earliest memory are those of you

And all that we did share...

....The years have faded into mist

Like ships that fade at sea

But I still hold you in my heart

In every memory.

I love you, Girlfriend....always