Friends

Well you definitely pick your friends. And some people are much better at it than others. I must say that I think I'm pretty good a picking friends (and I can hear my mum saying in the background, the same was said by old headmaster from my early school years). Yes, that a compliment to you !

The difference to family is that the thing that bring friends initially together is a common interest. However, if that interest changes over time, it could spell the end for a friendship. Or, the relationship that friends build becomes more important than the past common interest. You just know each other too well, you can help each other out through the tough times and share an inside story every time you get together.

It's quite amazing really, that unrelated individuals, roaming around this big old world of ours, one day bump into one another and quickly recognize a connection. Like Meg says in Sleepless in Seattle, "it's like magic" (but not the kind we think of about love, but a magical feeling you perhaps get that you're not alone with your dreams, your passions, your humour, you've just found someone specifically designed to appreciate them).

Ok, I may been over dramatizing this a little, and of course not all friends are equal and friendships grow and often change over time, but like family, that feeling of comfort and being able to be yourself around true is a always something to cherish.

Friends. Those special people in your life who share, and understand, your highs and lows.

I can't leave this topic without of course touching on a favourite line from a favourite film "What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way."

Yes, friends change over the years, but without them along the way, great memories would so easily fade and our lives would feel so empty. Isn't one of the greatest gifts we can give and receive is friendship. Friendships are so fragile and unpredictable, but perhaps that's what makes them special.

And what could be more special, than when family become friends and friends become family.

Photo from the M.I.L.K. Collection - www.milkphotos.com