Best Friends

I've been thinking a lot recently about friends.  What makes a friend, what causes two people to stick together, to form a permanent bond, what causes them to make another person who shares no blood a member of their family.

I've had best friends.  There was Laura, who I met in first grade because she was in my class. There was Tamecia, who I met at summer camp and who became a penpal for the duration of high school, and subsequently, my college roommate.  There was Amaya, who started talking to me on an evening when I thought I wanted to be alone, and never left.  She turned out to be one of the sweetest people I've ever met! There was Jen, who became family in such a significant way that we literally helped raise each other's kids for a few years.  She was the closest thing to a sister I've ever had, aside from my natural sister.

But that's only four people.  When I'm thinking about best friends I picture a life long, solid bond that no amount of time or distance or trial or disagreement can separate.  Does that mean none of these wonderful ladies was really a best friend?

Best.   Better than all the others, superior in some way.
Friend. Someone who you welcome into your life as a companion, who in turn welcomes you into theirs.  Someone who acts as the cheerleader to your dreams, even if they don't share them.  Someone who tells you their dreams, because they know you will cheer them on, even if you don't share them. Someone who is excited to talk to you and answers the phone when you call...or better yet, calls you! Someone you can talk for hours to...about all the important things, or about nothing, and never realize the time has passed.  The person you think to call when something wonderful happens.  The person you know you can call when something awful happens.

So, by this definition, each of them was a best friend.  By this definition, I have one more best friend. I met Bethany on the day she was born.  I held her and cuddled her, and fell madly and completely in love with my new daughter.  Of course, she wasn't my best friend then. She had a lot of growing to do.  And along the way, we had the normal mother-daughter spats.  But now she's grown, married, and a mommy to her own little one, and somewhere along the way, she grew up into a kind, loving, beautiful soul.  She really is my biggest cheerleader, even when she doesn't really get why I want what I'm working toward.  She calls just to chat, and we can talk for hours, sometimes.  She makes a point to ask my opinion, even when I'm sure she knows it's going to clash with hers.  :)  And I feel so incredibly blessed to have her as my friend.

Some people may be blessed with many, many friends like I've described.  That hasn't been my experience.  But it makes the treasure of a best friend that much more valuable to me, I guess.  And that's why it is my everyday joy to have Bethany as my best friend.