I’ve made a new friend.

Making friends can be difficult, especially if you’re like me and poor at first impressions. In my half-century, I have been initially fooled by bad people who I let into my inner circle, only to later regret it. More often though, I have written off a people because of something odd during our initial encounter, only to become good friends with them as time passed.

In my twenties I met a couple and thought she was perfectly lovely while he was a buffoon. I wondered about their compatibility and it took a long while for me to realize that he was a little awkward, yet a genuine, caring, and hilarious guy. Fortunately, he was patient with me. We became friends, and maintain that friendship today.

I’ve learned this about myself and try to hold off on judgment when I meet someone. But I’m not sure about this new friend. I never thought him my type and honestly have forcefully pushed away his type before.

I’m fairly certain I have enough friends in my life already. That sounds arrogant, but I don’t mean it that way. I realize I’ve been blessed beyond measure with wonderful people in my life and I try not the take that for granted. I could absolutely use more friends and am open to meeting new people. But I’ve reached a point when I’m having trouble keeping up with the ones I’ve collected. There’s not enough time to sit down with all my friends for a cup of coffee which leads to serious guilt when you get that text from one that says, “It’s been too long…”

Which of you could honestly say that you would recognize every one of your Facebook friends if they marched past you on the street?

You almost have to rank your friends, don’t you? There are social media friends, work friends, text-only friends, friends you actually talk to on the phone, and friends who don’t even have your phone number. There are once a week friends, once a month friends, and I don’t really want to see you in person but I don’t dislike you friends. And those rankings are just for surface things.

The real rankings involve intimacy. Who do you tell things to? The real friends are the ones you call on their birthday instead of posting well-wishes on their wall. The highest-ranking friends are those who you trust with secrets, who know your business, and show up on the ICE list on your phone.

My new friend is a daily friend, but I don’t want him to be. He’s pushy and confrontational because every time I see him, he reminds me of my age. And he’s bringing more friends to the party – I meet his cohort next week.

This is my friend, Pillbox. After a recent heart scan, my age and heredity are catching up with me. Nothing dire, but some cholesterol to mind.

The first day on my new pill regimen, for the life of me I couldn’t remember if I’d taken them. THE FIRST DAY! I got seriously flustered and although I swore I would never have a pill organizer, I bought it on day two.

And now he’s my friend. Next week I will meet his plus-1 – my new cardiologist. As nice as he might be, I truly hope he is only a once a year or less friend.

 

 

In all seriousness, I’m not arrogant enough to actually rank friends. I appreciate every one very much. Thank you for being my friend and if I didn’t return your text, it doesn’t mean that you’ve slipped. I’m just old and have a heart condition