words..friendship..forgiveness

As always, returning from Edm. puts me in a reflective mood. The frequent recurrence of funerals for healthier, younger, nicer friends than I,has brought me closer to those friends still alive and kicking and caused me to consider the following....Friendship has levels of commitment and will progress or decline depending on the level and sincerity of that commitment. Friendship has an ebb and flow. We involved do not give equally to the relationship at the same time. Friends make mistakes, say hurtful words, do ridiculous unbelievable things and if there is enough substance to the people involved in the friendship they can talk it out. It might take many talks to reclaim trust but if you have enough invested in terms of love, family and memories the friendship can be saved and many times grow far beyond what it was.There is often a more tenacious friend who will pick up the remains of the event or issue and will start the healing. Forgiveness plays an important part as does moving forward and not resurrecting the past. Not all friendships are that invested and worth the struggle to come to a point of resolution. It sadly sometimes means walking away but if you are fortunate as I have been....my friends waited for me, forgiven me,handing me a Kleenex when I was crying and then laughing with me after.