The True Test of Friendship

I was standing at the sales counter at Dark-Thirty this morning, waiting for the lumber company shed to open, and decided to flip through the magazine rack. One of the magazine covers had in large, red writing the beckoning header, "ARE YOU A REAL FRIEND? TAKE OUR QUIZ!" Like, you can pay ten dollars and figure out just how awesome you are to your buddies. I didn't buy it, buy it still made me think. 

My last post mentioned my circle of friends. What catapults a person beyond mere acquaintance into the friendship category? And, for that matter, what makes a person a best friend. How can a person have ten besties? The social media app, Snapchat, has my daughter listed as one of my best friends. We chat via Snapchat at least a few times a week. Is constant communication the only thing on the list that divides the friendship tier into "Almost A Has Been" and "La Creme de la Creme"? If so, then my lawn guy is my best friend too. He and I chat about as often as my daughter and I do, albeit instead of talking about our dogs' bowel movements and whether or not we need to buy more Pop Tarts, Rickey The Lawn Guy and I discuss Johnson grass and dandelions. That is hardly enough to press against the threshold of bestie territory. But if Snapchat says so...

I'd like to think the true test of friendship has to do more with whether or not a person is around through the different seasons of your life. And there is a difference between Ginny, the work friend you take your coffee breaks with and send memes to during work hours and Carol, your former college roommate who held your hair back as you puked out Fifty Cent Margaritas and churros for three hours after your brutal breakup with WhatsHisFace McGie. Both Ginny and Carol are your Facebook friends. Both Ginny and Carol "hearted" your new wallpaper photos on Instagram, but which of the two would pick up the phone at 4 a.m. because you had an awful dream and don't want to feel alone? 

I would wake up for my former college roomie, and I haven't seen her actual face in 30 years! Work wife Ginny? She'll get a callback after I've blown through a pot of coffee. 

I think tests of friendship are actual tests and not whether the both of you like the same band and wear matching pajamas.