Can't Replace Great Friends

There's something you can't replace about an 'old' friend. It's not that I am that 'old', it's just that I'm at a place in my life where it sure is nice to have people around that understand me. They don't just understand how I am as a thirty-something or a parent; they know me from my late teens and early twenties. They have seen me at my best and at my worst.

Life is anything but easy. It's comforting to be able to get 'real' with people who know that you aren't crazy for being in a funk or having a bad day. Heck, even having a bad month or year isn't going to make them think less of you. There is just something special about people who know you for who you are as a whole person from beginning to end. You can't replace old friends.

Conversations you can have with people who have been with you for the long haul aren't superficial or on the surface. They dig deep and cross the line of inappropriate. These conversations make you feel normal in a world that is anything but what you expect. They make you realize that your human errors aren't that awful and that we all screw up royally. They make you feel like you aren't alone in your struggles.

It's easy to try to compare hardships in your life to the hardships of others. You can't. It's impossible to completely rate your struggles with the struggles of every other human being. Understanding that we all have good days and bad days makes us human. The amazing thing about old friends is that we are reminded that it's okay to wish for more. It's okay to forget to be thankful. It's okay to bitch occasionally.

Friends that don't truly understand our past or why we are the way we are, may not be able to fully empathize with our bad months or our inappropriate conversations. That's okay. That's why we have those 'old' friends that we are 100% ourselves around. There is no judgment passed. There are no ill feelings. All that's there is care and concern for those people that have been around through thick and thin.

The wonderful thing about true friends is that you don't have to see them everyday or talk to them every week. Months and years can go by, yet when you are together, you don't miss a beat.

Life will continue to be hard. Tomorrow I will forget to be thankful for the amazing gifts around me. But, for tonight and in the moments I had with great friends, I am reminded how damn lucky I am. I was taken back to a time in my life when I didn't have to stress about finances or work or children or the big bad world that we are all apart of. Nostalgia is an amazing thing and I am going to bask in this moment for as long as I can until the real world hits again bright and early tomorrow morning.

Here's to your great friends. Don't forget to tell them how wonderful they are. Don't forget to tell them how special they make you feel. Don't forget that you can't replace the years of memories that were made throughout the journey of your friendship. Call an old friend this week. Catch up and be reminded of the youth that still lives deep inside!

Enjoy the journey you have been blessed with, love the people in your life, smile :) and remember, 'It's Okay'. 

 

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