Friendships

Friendships are an integral part of our lives. Outside of siblings it is one of the first relationships we have. Oftentimes than not our environment dictates who become our friends. Our first friends are usually the neighborhood kids or classmates/schoolmates.

As we get older our friends change and sometimes our reasons to have friends change. We outgrow them, someone moves away, or we have a disagreement that leads to the end of the friendship.

By time we get into young adulthood our friendships are pretty much set, these people may be friends from high school, college or someone you met in one of your early jobs. You hang out, talk on the phone, laugh together then life happens.

We get into our careers, start paying bills, get married and have children, then inadvertently (or maybe not) we stop talking to our friends as much, missed calls or texts go unreturned or unanswered. And more often than not and we don’t hang out as much. When this is mentioned it’s “I’m busy.” My question is are we really that busy or is it our friendships don’t have that much value anymore?

We can make time for everything else? Why not our friends? Is it because we pour into our romantic relationships more so than our platonic relationships? My question is why? Shouldn’t our friendships be just as important as our romantic relationships? Or is it because we are pouring into our children? Making sure they pick the right friends or surrounding themselves with good people?

I’m not saying neglect your romantic relationships or that your friends should come before your spouse. Nor am I saying neglect your children. By all means continue to pour into those relationships. However, that same time effort and energy that we put into our romantic relationships, children, and jobs should go into maintaining our friendships. We shouldn’t just let our friendships fall by waste side because we’re adults or because other responsibilities get in the way.

Try to take time once a week to call and check on your friends. Shoot a text to see how they are doing. Once a month go for a spa date or hang with your boys just to shoot the breeze. Take time to check on and talk to your friends.