i gave as lot of thought to how i wanted (or if!) to do this. i thought about it again last night, after letting it simmer for some years and you know what? it needs to be done. so it shall be.
these will be tributes to my friends, people i treasure and care for, people that i would, in fact, do anything for… up to and including picking up and moving to where they are if it were needed. quite literally, people i would change every aspect of my life for if it meant they would benefit from it, have what they need, or not suffer. for some on this list, i have done precisely this already… but those tales will be told in context.
oh… and because it would be too confusing otherwise, i intend to list these friends only by first name, last initial, and general geographic location. beyond this, to note if they are new friends or forever friends:
new friends – people who have been friends less than five years (no offense but it seems the five year mark is some manner of watershed and so, over time, i have come to place value on that duration).
forever friends — the term i use to note people that have been friends for so long and through so much that there’s no doubt in my mind that they will, in fact, be friends for life. all of these folks have been around well past the point of ‘new friends’ and most of them arrived during extremely dark moments… so the fact that they’re actually still here is doubly precious to me because it’s a rare thing indeed that people remain when the fertilizer hits the ventilator.
i suppose i should explain that i find deep and meaningful difference between acquaintances and friends. no offense to my acquaintances, but the simple truth is — i know a lot of people, but not everyone i know is or has been a friend. i’d love it were this not the case, but i do not find anything ‘wrong’ with it not being so, and i hope you will understand that being an acquaintance rather than a friend is not, of itself, an judgment or any indicator that i believe you will never be a friend.
to reiterate — i sincerely hope every acquaintance will become a friend. so if you’re reading these and are upset or hurt that you do not find your name among the number, i am sorry that it has upset or hurt you and ask that you please understand — the distinction is not for any reason other than i haven’t had the enjoyment of knowing you better, more deeply, or longer. and we can certainly change that any time we wish to, can’t we? 🙂