I think it’s fair to say that our best friends go drastically unappreciated the unfortunate majority of the time. Though we might shower them with gifts on birthdays and Christmases, there aren’t too many other times when we can sit back and truly appreciate how wonderful our friends really are. With International Day of Friendship just around the corner (30th July!) I’d like to dedicate this piece to the guys and gals that put up with us at our very worst, so we can strive to be our very best.
If any of you are like me, then you’ll understand that we probably compare our lives to that of our family and friends about a dozen times a day. From checking Instagram in the morning, to sharing your nieces first steps on Facebook in the evening – there are few moments throughout the day when we compare ourselves, not to our friends…but to who we were last month, or last year.
Self-reflection is painful. Maybe you didn’t send that email you were meant to, or you skipped dinner yesterday…or you bought a takeaway curry instead (guilty). Thinking back though, there’s been hundreds of occasions where I’ve been poorly behaved, or embarrassing, or relied heavily on my friends to bail me out.
So, in no particular order, thank you to:
The ones who feed the cats when you’re on holiday.
The ones that are there when you’ve had a little (lot) too much to drink.
The ones who bring back your DvD in the same condition you gave it to them in.
The ones that lend you their Netflix password.
The ones that comment on your Facebook pictures to get the ball rolling.
The ones you call when you’ve had a bad day
The ones that offer to drive you back from the bar.
The ones who tell you when you’re being an idiot.
The ones who know when that dress isn’t you.
The ones who let you down gently.
The ones who remind you who ‘thingy’ is on Game of Thrones…again.
We live our lives at breakneck speeds, without ever really taking the time to appreciate what we have or how we got where we are. I look now at my loving husband as he attempts to conjure together a risotto with a wry smile across as his face as he realises he’s forgotten the rice. It was my turn to cook dinner tonight, but he offered to so that I could work on my blog.
I spend hours of my week talking to family and friends on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, venting our woes back and forth (often with each other) without ever picking up my phone with the intention to say thank you to any of them.
I’m not trying to be soppy, but it’s not often I can actually sit back and reflect on how lucky I really am. With so much going on in the world, it really puts it into perpective that the biggest worry I currently have is when I’m going to find the time to get the car it’s MOT. How feeble is that?
But, in the past…when things haven’t been plain sailing; the car’s broken down, dads found himself in hospital again and things aren’t going well at Mike’s work – I’ve been able to lean on the people closest to me, so I don’t spend all of my time in a horribly teary mess.
We’re very lucky that life is comfortable at the moment, so I’m going to pay it forward and order some thank you gifts for my family and friends. You never know when you’re going to be out on your luck and I know what that’s like. My closest friends, who are far less communicative with their feelings could be going through some really tough times, thinking that they can’t share that load. This is me letting everyone know that it’s time for me to give something back.
If I only get one Facebook message about someone’s tough day, it will have meant that I’m finally starting to give something back. I hope this inspires some of you to do the same.
