My Best Friend

Since Ed has asked me to cover for him for a while, I am in wonder of how he comes up with new and interesting topics every day. I need to get a life 'cause I just don't have a wide range of interesting things that I feel the need to expound upon. Gosh, how does he do it and remain interesting and relevant? It has to be the gift of a natural born teacher in him.

Anyway, Ed is my best friend. I am sure that many of you would probably consider your spouse your best friend, too. Other than Ed, I can count my dear, loyal, "I-can-tell-her-anything-and-she-will-still-love-me" friends on one hand with and have a couple of fingers that are not used.

I always told the kids I would rather have one or two good friends than a thousand acquaintances. A real friend is a real blessing. The bond between the two of you transcends time and distance. A real friend is one that you might not see or hear from for months and pick up the phone and the conversation flows as if you had spoken just yesterday. It is as if no time at all had passed.

Friends come in all shapes and forms, all ages and backgrounds. But there are a couple of characteristics that a genuine best friend (it IS okay to have more than one best friend) MUST have.

Sense of humor: This is the person who knows all about you and remembers every detail of it and can bring you back to reality with just one tiny story about prom night in the 70s when leisure suits and disco were in.

This is the person who could see your feet when you were nine months pregnant and you hadn't seen your feet in six weeks! This is the person who looked so much like you that your own mom could not tell the difference without her glasses when she was hopping mad about the illegal fireworks at 3 AM that set off all the car alarms in the neighborhood...WHOA!..that is a whole 'nother story.

Honesty: Your best friends will really tell you if your wheat should be killed and used as a cover crop since it looks so bad. Your neighbors will probably just chuckle behind your back and watch the combine aimlessly circling around the field looking for grain come harvest time. Your friends will tell you when the color of your new truck reminds them of calf scours. For our non-farm friends that is NOT a handsome color. They will tell you that you definitely should not date that girl or guy much less marry them! That takes guts.

Finally, my best friends may not be farmers but they "get it". When I have to cancel plans when the sun finally shines after a week of rain and there is work to be done, they forgive and forget, welcome me the next time and never lay on the guilt. They get it when my house looks like a thrift store on days when I haven't gotten to the laundry or the dishes or putting away the groceries. They get it when I am worried or broken hearted or angry or disillusioned.

A good friend is a blessing and a treasure. If you have one or two, take a moment to remind yourself what you value most in your friendship then TELL them what they mean to you.

The old saying is, "To have a friend, be a friend." If you are having a bad day, take a moment to get to know someone. You never know...that blessing and treasure could be a future friend just waiting to be introduced.

I think I will give Jill a call tonight....