You can always have more than one best friend.
That’s a lesson I’m trying to teach my young nieces and nephews as they manage the world of friendships, bullying and elementary school.
I know this from experience.
See, I’m the kind of person who loves and loves hard. I’m loyal almost to a fault, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. So I don’t just have friends; I have best friends.
I’m the type of girl who’s going to pour into you with care.
I was reminded of the importance of having a best friend this weekend as I got to visit one of mine, Amy Passaretti Willis — y’all may remember her — this weekend.
I was reminded how important it is to have someone that’ll always stick by your side.
I’ve learned the hard way that relationships come and go, both romantic and otherwise. But best friendships, those stick around forever.
Especially for women like me, who have had a fairly nomadic existence, it’s been difficult to really procure these types of friendships. In the career I chose, it’s forced me to move around a lot and I’ve also done a lot of running from my past.
I had really close friends in Pennsylvania, ones I thought would’ve stood the test of time and distance, but they didn’t. And that’s OK. I’m not saying every close friend will be one of those lifelong friendships you can’t replace — but it’s important to cultivate those too.
However, Alabama has brought me something different. It’s helped me reconnect with my childhood best friend Erica, who is there for me in the best of times and the worst of times. And it’s also brought me new best friends.
There’s also the friendships that breed out of family relationships. Charles has a slew of siblings, and I’ve connected really closely with one of his brother’s wives. You can catch us together most weekends and usually a couple of days during the week too.
Because we’re family, we’re probably stuck together for life, but we choose to be friends.
I think that’s what makes friendships so special: They’re truly the ones of your choosing. Everyone is so busy these days; there’s work pressure and chores and social activities. There’s always something to do, but we choose who we make time for. We choose who our friends are, and we choose how much we pour into them.
Choose wisely, because they’ll be the ones who are really there for you in the end.
Lizi Arbogast Gwin is the managing editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. She can be reached at 434-962-9420 or via email at lizi.gwin@alexcityoutlook.com.
