Friends

How many friends do you have?


No, do not check Facebook for the total number.  Think about it, how many true friends do you have? One? Three? 100? If you can honestly say you have 100 friends how greatly blessed you are to enjoy such support, company and Love.


I have a baker's dozen when it comes to the number of friends I have.  My friends look, sound, smell, taste and feel differently from one another and I love each one of them as if Saundra, my Mom, birthed them.  Each person is uniquely special to me and I know that at any given moment I can call on them and they will be there for me should I need them.  Ever honest, and at times brutally so, my friends tell me what I need to hear because they care too much about and for me to allow what I want to hear suffice.  My friends have money, are broke, are many different races; some being spiritual others being religious and a few doubtful.  For each and everyone of them, I am thankful.  We don't need social networking to validate our friendship as our bond transcends status updates, photo albums, the number of likes and airing of dirty laundry in public forums.  My friends are dependable and they make me a better version of Brandon Jones with a look, a hug, a phone call, a text, an email, or by simply being next to me.


You see, I couldn't ask for better friends because I'm not sure they exist.  If you look at our monthly statements reflecting our account history you'll see just as many deposits as withdrawals and seldom do we complain about over drafting.  It's free checking with no hidden fees and our joint account abundantly runneth over with value far greater than any dollar amount imaginable.


I Love my friends and I let them know.  I don't shy away from telling them and to me, they are family... closer to me than some relatives.  Oh man, we have fought to the point of tears, traded blows and created wounds creating scar tissue that is sensitive and marrow deep.  Our laughter is hearty and earth shaking, putting jolly St. Nick to shame.  The memories we have made are vivid and though time threatens to fade their clarity, the attempt is feeble at best.  Our secrets are many and most of our jokes are inside.  To fight one of us is to fight us all for though we be comprised of men and women, our band, bound together tighter than any rope or adhesive, strikes thunderous chords and our winds blow mightily with gale force.


My friends are lifelong: the duration of mine and theirs.  One day there will be empty chairs at empty tables we used to occupy and on that day the songs of our laughter and Love for one another will echo inside the 4 walls that witnessed our story as it was written.  My life has been a canvas on which each of my friends has left their mark indelibly creating a masterpiece in progress.

There's an old saying: "you can tell a lot about a person by their friends".  What can be told about you by those who are truly yours?

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