Do You Have A Best Friend?

Everybody needs a best friend.  Someone to laugh with, do silly things with, share life with.  Someone to confide in.  Someone to lean on.  Someone to encourage you when you need it and to talk some sense into you when you need it more.

I have a lot of really good friends, but I don’t think I can truly say I’ve had a best friend since my younger days.  Angela was a friend I grew up with in the big city of Streetsville.  We spent all our free time together.  Hanging out.  Listening to music.  Talking. Laughing.  We collected rocks together.  We grew into teenagers together.  We talked about boys together.  Then at the end of grade eight, my parents announced we were moving.  Really moving.  Hours away.   I ran out of time and I ran out of courage and I couldn’t face her to say goodbye.

That was in 1984.

I had really great friends in high school and into college.

But Angela was the one who knew all.

In 2010, she found me online and sent me an email, hoping I was the “Carrie Buchanan” she was looking for.  Then circumstances for me started changing, life got really hard, and she showed up.  All those years later.  It’s like she knew I would need her.  So crazy.

She showed up.  She drove hours to see her old best friend.

To take her shopping and take her out and to remind her who she used to be.  Before life got hard.

That’s the power of a best friend.  No matter how many years pass.  Husbands, kids, career.  Big loss. Big heartbreak.  There she was.   To remind me of who I used to be and the timing was perfect.

We had a sleepover and stayed up late talking and laughing.   Like 30 years hadn’t really passed.

Everybody needs a best friend.

I look at my kids and I don’t know if it’s fair to blame technology but I don’t see my kids having the same kind of friendships.   Friendships don’t seem to have the staying power anymore.  And it makes me so sad.  Is it because we lack true connection?  Is it something else? Is social media taking the place of true friendship?  Are we just not investing in people the way we used to?

I tell my kids all the time – no matter who you have in your life – a boyfriend/ husband (down the road of course) a girl always needs her best friend.   That is just a role her spouse can’t fill.

She needs that person that really knows her and gets her.  I only wish my girls could find their “person”.   Someone who would stay.  Someone to share this crazy life with.

Do you have a best friend?  Someone you can talk to about anything?  Do you still remember your best friend from years ago?  Do you have a “person”?  An “Angela”?  in your life?

I hope so.  Because they are so good for your health!  Did you know a strong social support will boost your happiness, improve self confidence and increase your sense of belonging and purpose.

Friendships may extend our lives.
Friendships help to keep our minds sharp.
Our friends make us generally healthier.
Our best friends get us through the tough times.
Friends influence us, whether it’s good or bad!

And I would never turn down the chance to make new friends.  Oprah!  If you’re up to it, I would love the chance to “hang” and just chat.  Michelle Obama.  Julia Roberts.  My doors are always open to new opportunities.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan