Has your idea of what makes a good friend changed as you’ve gotten older?

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Over time and growth, we truly start to understand what a friend is. Period. I see this a lot with my kids, talking about their “good friend” in Australia from the online game they’ve been playing. Sometimes such places do bring people together, but often, especially for the young, they don’t. Because an acquaintance is not a friend and that is something many kids and teens cannot separate. And then there are the bad friends, those who truly have the worst influence on us, especially if this influence goes against our basic nature but we follow along for fear of losing them. Or a bad friend can simply be someone we think is our friend but isn’t. I learned that one the hard way. An old friend roped me into a scheme, and when he got in trouble, I got in trouble too. Only then did I see it… he wasn’t counting on me, he was counting on my credibility. My name helped him reach more people to scam. WE are their friends but they are NOT ours. Or rather we are their prey.

As I get older I realize a good friend is the one there through thick and thin. They are also sometimes the friend I can lose track of for months and then we pick back up as if it was yesterday. Some friends are more like dogs than cats, they need constant connection and attention. But either way, cat or dog (or capybara), the good friend wants what is best for you even if that best does not necessarily look like something you’d want.