Photo Credit: Katie Basbagill

I'm feeling a little reflective as my birthday approaches and due to some recent events, I have been thinking about friendship. How is it defined? How is it born? How is it maintained? How is it lost? 

Friendship is a close relationship maintained between two people. Friendships can transcend decades, hardships, states, even oceans. I can tell you that I am lucky enough to have three incredibly close friends, each from major stages in my life: one from junior high and high school, one from college, and one from when I was teaching. 

Friendship is born out of similar lifestyles and current situations, mutual contacts, work environments, or happenstance. Most of my friendships have come about by meeting them in events or programs I have attended. I feel like my closest friends I have just clicked with; it is so hard to describe. It was just an immediate connection and relationship that is unlike a general acquaintance. Making new friends can be incredibly challenging, as I have learned, but I'm okay with where I am knowing that I'm in a phase of my life that will be fluctuating until my boys start school. 

Photo Credit: Katie Basbagill

Friendship has to absolutely be a reciprocal situation. Nothing is worse than putting yourself out there, always helping your friends and they give nothing. You deserve better than that, but you also need to be a good friend. 

Friendships can be lost along the way because of sudden change of mind, arguments, or simply a major change in life. Other than my three solid friends I mentioned before, many have come and gone throughout my life. I moved in junior high, which was so difficult, so I lost my friends from elementary school. I maintain a few from high school and college, but really only stayed close with a few people. Now that I stay home with my kids, I've developed a couple strong friendships and am appreciating those. 

My closest friends let me be who I am, talk to me, listen to me, care about me and my kids, and are honest with me. I am so incredibly grateful for my friends and consider most of them family. 

How do you define friendship? Have your friendships stood the test of time?