A friend is a friend is a friend...

I've done a lot of thinking lately about friends and their importance in my life. It is inevitable that friendships change once you grow older, have children, and enter different phases in your life--sometimes drastically different from the people you've called your friends for years. And, sometimes those changes are enough to fizzle a friendship, or cause it to fade from view. But, not always, and I think that's what I'm finding most special these days.

This evening I got a little email from an old friend with whom I worked in Dallas before we moved here. We haven't seen each other in many years. And, yet, when I barely made mention of recent crankiness in la casa de MomCat, she picked up on there being more and told me before she ended her email that if the crankiness didn't go away, I could always call or email her to chat. She commiserated having just moved and reminded me she was always there for me. This is a pal with whom I send Christmas cards and maybe a few emails a year. Yet, that one sentence touched me because I knew she truly meant it. And, it was as if we'd worked together just yesterday. Funny how a good friend can be that way, isn't it?

In times of crises or even despair, it becomes instantly obvious who is really your friend and who really isn't. The real friends are the ones who see through any masks you put on to hide the pain and call you on it. They are the ones who have noticed something off with you, even before you've mentioned a word.

They are the ones who might be at a busy time in their life--during a move, making life changes themselves, or just bogged down with work, and they still emphatically tell you to call them if you need to talk no matter what. They worry for you, pray for you, and listen to you rant with an open mind and an even more open heart.

They're on your side no matter what, even when you might be wrong in the first place. And, they may even know that, but they don't care...you're their friend. That's all that matters. Period.

While this is Mother's Day and I do want to make a big shout out to my fellow Mommy Bloggers (gah--sorry I used that dreaded label again ladies...ha!) and wish them a most awesomely special day, I also want to send some love to my friends.

You know who you are. And, as you read this, know that it is the same as a big hug from me. I only hope that I can be as good of a friend to you, in your time of sadness or need, as you have been to me. Thank you for being my posse over the years, for having my back and for caring enough to listen at times when I don't even understand what is really even coming from my mouth. I *HEART* you all!