Detached Friends

I wasn't sure what to write today, and then I read my sister-in-law's blog post about Friends.  Over the years friends come and friends go.  Some friends get closer while others drift apart for various reasons.  It's true that a friendship is what you make of it. But that's true of any relationship, be it parents, friends, children, partner, etc. 

In school there seemed to me to be two types of people; there were the popular kids that had all the friends you could ever imagine.  Then there were those who had a smaller set of friends, but those friends were quite close.  I always fit into the latter category.

I like making, "friends" but most of the time they're really more acquaintances than friends.  I've had some of my close friends for decades, and other great friends I've only know a short while. 

But on to the topic of detached friends.  It's common to have life changes or situation changes that cause friends who spent lots of time together at one point from spending the same amount of time together, or even keeping in touch at all.

I've worked with good friends, we did things regularly and then one of us changed jobs.  We just didn't have that constant interaction that kept us close.  And that's okay.  That's how life's friends flow sometimes.

The best kind of friend to me, is the friend that can pick back right where you left off when there's been a lapse in contact.  It's the kind of friend who doesn't blame you for not keeping closer contact because, hey, they didn't bother to contact you either.  You get on the phone or send an email and you're both happy that you're back in touch.  It's been a while so there's going to be lots to talk about.

I appreciate all my friends who are glad to be friends, even if we're not as close or keep in contact as much as we used to.  That's a characteristic of a true friend to me.

The Big Boy Update:  Practice counting.  He doesn't know his numbers, but we're working on it.  We count to things and he seems to sometimes know the next number.  And I would like to heavily emphasize the word, "sometimes" here because it's hard to know if he's parroting something or really knows a thing at this age.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Dog interactions.  She likes to try and pet the dog, feed the dog, withhold food from the dog and generally interact with the dog.  The dog says no, by snapping at her as a warning.  She does not try to bite her, just warn her to back off.  She's getting the message but since the dog is gentle about it, she still likes to try and play with her whenever she can get close to her.

Fitness Update:  Heart rate monitor statistics.  I love statistics.  I know that sometimes a workout is less-strenuous now than my app was estimating it.  It means I could work harder.  It turns out pushing a stroller alternating running and walking is more exercise than I thought.