Friends

A question my kids ask often is whether or not I'm friends with their friends' moms. They want me to have those connections to the same people they do - let's face it, it's easier to get a ride somewhere if they know I know/am friends with the mom and sometimes it can even score you some popularity points.

For them, right now, they want to have a million friends and they want everyone to like them. It's important to them. I totally get that.

I'm in a place in my life where I have a ton of casual friends. You know, the friends I hug and am genuinely happy to I see, we do lunches and invite each other to baby showers and jewelry parties. We have a great time together, every time we get together. They are part of my possy.

However, I have very few authentic friends. 2... 3 at the very most. These relationships require work. They involve arguments, hurt feelings, encouragement, sharing of sins and triumphs... Transparently allowing each other to see our very worst and choosing to continue to love each other. They are the ones I can randomly text for 5 days in a row and then not talk to for weeks... and we're still good. They help me grow. We are authentic, open, forgiving.

In our lives we need both types of friends... and probably many more different types. This doesn't make any of the friends more or less valuable - they are just different. I cherish all of my different types of friendship. When my kids ask how many friends I have... I have to really think about it. Because I am surrounded by lots of different kinds of love and I pray they will understand and cherish the friends they make now and in the future.