Best friends

What are best friends for?

That question is usually rhetorical.  People use it to validate what they just said, or did, but this morning, during a conversation with my best friend, the reality of it flittered through my mind like a butterfly on a warm spring day.

Best friends are our last bastion of comfort once we grow up.  As children most of us had a parent who was a natural sounding board, someone who listened intently and tried to give us a a rational, honest opinion, suggest healthy and logical directives, and do it all from a warm, safe and loving place. No one else will ever have our backs like that again -- unless we have a best friend.

A best friend is more than a "yes man."  He is truth spoken as kindly as possible and clearly as necessary. He has no underhanded agenda.  He is there because he loves me and wants me to be happy.  He has no need to be jealous, or envious, or compete on any level.

A best friend has no shelf life or due date when things will change because it is a relationship that isn't dependent on worldly worries.

So . . . what are best friends for?

To be a teddy bear with a voice . . .