The other day a post about spending "girl time" came across my Facebook feed. It was a general comment on how good it was to spend some "girl time" with friends and the importance of doing so. I let it go for a day or so but when it showed back up I commented to the effect that being in the military and moving so much it was hard to make serious friends. Plus, I tend to keep people at arm's length for a long time getting to know them. It's something I'm working on but still, it takes time to make a true friend.
I have almost 700 "friends" on Facebook. Many of them I don't have a clue who they are...but as an author if they want to be my friend and buy a book, then I'm all for that.
A lot of them are people I've gotten to know online. And there are some who I do consider friends in the loosest sense of the word. We comment on each other's posts occasionally, maybe wish each other happy birthday but that's about as far as it goes.
Let's say 6 are people I consider to be a "serious" friend. This is the person I could call at 2 in the morning and say "hey, my car broke down, I'm two hours from home, can you come get me?" These people (and there are honestly less than 6 but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.) would jump out of bed, pull on clothes, and be on the way to rescue me without a second thought. These are people who when our daughter was diagnosed with cancer, that we left our other 3 kids...one was a 2-year-old...with for over a week and we knew they were being taken care of. We could focus on the needs at hand and not worry. And when we had to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night, they would come to our house to be with the kids so again, we didn't have to worry.
And if they needed me, I'd do the same. Drop everything and come running. It's what friends do.
There are also people who I call acquaintances. We've known each other for years. And if I called in the middle of the night needing to be rescued, they would sigh, say okay, and get there sooner or later. But...I know they'd be thinking about how inconvenient and how the timing was really bad, and wish I'd called someone else.
Here's where I'm going. I think places such as Facebook, and MySpace, when it was relevant, cheapen friendship. Friendship takes work and when we can become "friends" with the click of a mouse button, or "unfriend" just as easy, we tend to not value those friendships.
So, if you have a friend, a true friend, one of those who'd come to the rescue no matter the time or place, without hesitation, then let them know just how much you value them in your life.
And take time to become friends with those acquaintances. Friendship takes time and work but true friends are a treasure beyond measure.
Here's a picture of Mocha and Skittles the cat sharing some friend time.
I have almost 700 "friends" on Facebook. Many of them I don't have a clue who they are...but as an author if they want to be my friend and buy a book, then I'm all for that.
A lot of them are people I've gotten to know online. And there are some who I do consider friends in the loosest sense of the word. We comment on each other's posts occasionally, maybe wish each other happy birthday but that's about as far as it goes.
Let's say 6 are people I consider to be a "serious" friend. This is the person I could call at 2 in the morning and say "hey, my car broke down, I'm two hours from home, can you come get me?" These people (and there are honestly less than 6 but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.) would jump out of bed, pull on clothes, and be on the way to rescue me without a second thought. These are people who when our daughter was diagnosed with cancer, that we left our other 3 kids...one was a 2-year-old...with for over a week and we knew they were being taken care of. We could focus on the needs at hand and not worry. And when we had to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night, they would come to our house to be with the kids so again, we didn't have to worry.
And if they needed me, I'd do the same. Drop everything and come running. It's what friends do.
There are also people who I call acquaintances. We've known each other for years. And if I called in the middle of the night needing to be rescued, they would sigh, say okay, and get there sooner or later. But...I know they'd be thinking about how inconvenient and how the timing was really bad, and wish I'd called someone else.
Here's where I'm going. I think places such as Facebook, and MySpace, when it was relevant, cheapen friendship. Friendship takes work and when we can become "friends" with the click of a mouse button, or "unfriend" just as easy, we tend to not value those friendships.
So, if you have a friend, a true friend, one of those who'd come to the rescue no matter the time or place, without hesitation, then let them know just how much you value them in your life.
And take time to become friends with those acquaintances. Friendship takes time and work but true friends are a treasure beyond measure.
Here's a picture of Mocha and Skittles the cat sharing some friend time.
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