Friends

• "One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives."

Euripides, Greek playwrite

• "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."

Winnie the Pooh

• "To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship."

Thomas Moore

• "A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than to have to watch their friend suffer.”

Amanda Grier

It has been too long since I've seen my friends. Part of my vacation was spending some time with three of my friends. I haven't taken the time to see them and that silly little fat bear seems to know more than I. It has been a trying year and in some ways I was just attempting to keep my head above water - to make it through. I wanted to spare my friends when in fact they wanted nothing more than to help me. I mostly likely hurt them deeply in order to spare my own pain. The irony is that they are the only ones who could have taken my pain. Ah, what we do to ourselves! The very act of hiding is so counter to friendship. When I consider what I would do for my friends I think I might smack 'em up side the head for failing to let me know when they need anything - for not letting me be what I am - their friend. We have a number of responsibilities to our friends primary of which is to let them be our friends. That takes honestly and perhaps a little courage. Maybe woman do it naturally, but I think men do it poorly or at least I did. Maybe next time I'll get smacked up side the head.