Thinking about friends (a saved fragment from months ago)

[kate_schaefer]

I've been following the adventures of some good but not close friends as they've been travelling this summer, and it occurred to me to wonder about the way I had described them in my head: good but not close. What did I mean by that? Aren't good friends and close friends the same?

Nope. My close friends are mostly just that: physically close. They're the people I walk with, borrow and lend tools to and from, eat with pretty frequently. They're the folks who have been with me in my best and worst times, as I hope I have been able to be there with them in theirs.

Comments

[wild_irises]

Interesting. I definitely have close friends who are not geographically close, but I think I make a distinction nonetheless between good friends and close friends.

In my case, I think it has to do with levels of intimacy, and also levels of feeling connected: are they the people I think about first when something goes right or goes wrong?

I will cogitate on this.

[kate_schaefer]

Yeah, I think I was going to go on and write about people who are close friends even though they're not physically close, and to brood about the different kinds of closeness, but I ran out of steam.

There are people I know for sure would be close friends if they lived nearby but who are simply good friends because they don't, and others who are very close even though I only see them once a year or so.

I'm happy to be as rich in friends as I am. I want to remember to tell them more often how much I value them, all of them.

[kate_schaefer]

Like you. That is, I don't think I could ever tell you how much I value you as a friend, though I do tell you so.

[wild_irises]

My friendships are my greatest riches by far.

I value you very much and I'm glad you're in my life. If we lived nearby, I think we'd see a lot of each other.