our children will play

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with a dear old friend of mine. She has been away at college for the past six weeks, and I have missed her more than I might like to admit. I've known her since I was six, but this past year we became especially close. I think of her as the older sister I never had, but also as one of my closest friends.

I don't know what I would have done without her last year. She was there for me every day, both as a shoulder to cry on and as someone to laugh with. Not having her around has been one of the weirdest experiences for me. And I'm not going to lie, but I was kind of nervous that when we saw each other again, things would be different than before she left. I was worried that we might be strange or awkward around each other.

Which is why I was so very excited to be able to spend some time with her this weekend. And you know what? We got right back in the swing of things. It was like she hadn't even left.

We did talk about our lives, though. I learned all about her life and friends at school, and she got caught up to speed on mine. This weekend reminded me why I am so thankful to have her as my friend. She is still that person I can say anything to, without fear of being judged or pitied. She is still like a sister to me, and after six weeks of being miles apart, that makes me believe that our friendship truly is one that will last a lifetime, and I couldn't be more happy about that.

And now you're wondering why I'm telling you this.

Well, I am telling you this because I want you to think about the people in your life. I want you to think about the relationships in your life. I want you to consider who your friends are and what they truly mean to you.

Are your friends in it for the long haul? Or is your relationship so fragile that it could fall to pieces with just a little time apart?

If you do not know what someone means to you, figure it out! Figure out what you need to do to hold on to the people who mean something to you. If you truly care about someone, if that person is someone who you can just be yourself with, someone you would trust with your life, figure out how to make that relationship work.

Because it's really not worth it to lose someone that precious to you over a little bit of distance and time. I wish you the best of luck.