Best Friends
Who are your best friends? Do you have someone in your life today who you went to school with? Social media can be a pain, but it also helps us keep in touch with people we might not live close to anymore – and some of those distant friendships make our days better as we see our friends and their families and watch their adventures. We might not consider those distant contacts “best friends” in the traditional sense of the words, but these are still people who can brighten our days.
I am currently helping to plan my 25th high school reunion. First of all, I can’t possibly have graduated high school 25 (!) years ago. But, the topic of friendship has been on my mind a lot lately – especially as this school year draws to a close and we also plan the teenager’s high school graduation this spring.
My best friends today are not the people I went to school with. There are certainly people who I try to catch up with from high school or college when we can get drinks or coffee, and we can talk about our lives and kids as if no time has passed. I used to be really good about setting up a monthly or quarterly happy hour for a big friends group in Denver, and I have good intentions to get that rolling again at some point…when life slows down.
Today, my closest friends are my kids’ friends’ parents. The people that we hang out with in the day to day are the ones who are at the games with us, or on a similar schedule to us, in our little town.
Who are your best friends today? Are they the same people you grew up with?
My husband grew up and went to college with a tight-knit group of friends, and they are part of our core group to this day. My family moved around quite a bit when I was growing up, and my core group of classmates that I still keep in touch with is from high school and college.
Friendships often change as we go through the different seasons of life. I am so grateful for social media, which allows me to keep in touch with those friends from long ago, not so long ago, and today. For all of the negative sides of social media, Facebook is still fun. I love seeing my classmates’ kids growing up, seeing their celebrations, moves across the country, and adventures to places near and far.
As we help our kids navigate the challenges of Growing Up, it’s good to remember that the “best friends” they have today may change, or they may keep them and add more. And all of those options are ok. Whether it is my swim team friends from long ago, my college and post-college roommates, or my closest friends today, all of the friends I have made along the way are great people. I am glad to cheer them on in the adventures life throws at them, and I am always here if anyone needs to vent or a shoulder to cry on.
As the saying goes, best friends really are forever.