There is a range of involvement in which friends exist in my life. I realize that this is probably an accurate statement for the majority of the world. So what brings this up? Recently I have been spending time with friends where our lives have moved in different directions and so we don't talk or see each other unless we make a valiant effort to make the time. It occurred to me that, although it typically goes unnoticed while the time passes, I have missed these individuals being a consistant part of my life.

There is a friend from high school who is a tax attorney here in town. She is an amazing individual and we were always together back in the day. Now it is down to an occational email and a Christmas card. Life changed.

There is a friend from college who is a mom in Dallas, Texas. She is one of my dearest friends and always will be. I actually lived with her and her husband for about a year once upon a time. Since she moved away, we talk about three times a year and see each other about once a year. However one would never be able to tell that we hadn't been talking for several hours each day because we just get each other.

I went and spent two evenings last week with friends that I haven't seen for a long while. One night I went with a friend to dinner at the Mandarin (which is a fabulous restaurant) who recently got married. There is a tendency to lose contact once they are married. The next night I spent with a friend who has been working way too much and our schedules don't line up very often. It was great to see both of them and we ended up talking for hours on both nights.

Then there are my wonderful friends who I get to see all the time. They are the ones that know what is going on in my life right now and I, theirs. I am aware of the fact that as time moves, things change. I have learned to really appreciate them while they are there for I never know when life changes and they are moved to a different aspect of my life.

I have many guy friends (actually more than women friends because I get along with them better), some married and some not, who either call or send baby announcements or send cards or swing by to see me. With these friends, there is never a lack of compliments. I actually have a group of guy friends that we all get together about every other year for a BBQ so that we can see each other. Each of these guys fit into different categories on friendship levels, but they fit into the same categories as my women friends.

It amazes me that each person fills a spot in my life and my heart. Each person taught/teaches me things that I need to learn. No matter where they fit into my life right now, I love them still. Afterall, they have help make me the person that I am.