Valentine’s day traditionally is for those in love, but since I don’t have someone like that again (yet), I thought: who are the people that matter most after family and partners/spouses? The answer was pretty simple: Friends.

From my personal experience, you can fall in and out of love, but real friends stay with you no matter what.

Real friends are 

• the ones who don’t mind if you forget their birthday because they know that you care about them always, not just on a special day (and they know you feel terrible once you realize you’ve missed the date again).
• the ones who really mean it when they say “Drop by sometime” because they enjoy your company.
• the ones who drop everything as soon as they can (after all, we all do have a life) to come to your aid if you need them.
• the ones who never ask for a favor in return.
• the ones with whom you can just be, no talking needed.
• the ones who will give you a shoulder to cry on if you are down, no matter how long it takes you to get over something.
• the ones who drag you out among people against your will if that is the only thing that will make you better again, even if you don’t know it yet yourself.
• the ones who trust you to take care of their kids, their apartments, their pets or their most prized possessions.
• the ones who give you the keys to their apartment or house and tell you that their home is your home and that you don’t need to call ahead if you stop by.
• the ones who are not angry with you if you haven’t spoken in a while but cherish every time you meet.
• the ones who confide in you and seek your help if they have a problem.
• the ones whose loss you always mourn after they have passed beyond the Rim, no matter how fond the memories are you have of them. Some wounds just close, but never heal.
• the ones who call you before all or most others to share exciting or sad news with you.
• the ones with whom you can have fun, always.
• the ones to whom you would entrust secrets that you would not tell your loved one.
• the ones who know about all your quirks and who stick around anyway.

Do all of these apply? Not necessarily, but those characteristics are the ones I came up with when I think of my friends. I think I can count myself lucky that I can call two handful of people good friends, with two or three among them who stand out and to whom I would entrust everything I own and myself.

In the spirit of today, a heart-felt THANK YOU to my friends. You know who you are. Thank you for being my friends, thank you for putting up with me and most importantly – thank you for letting me be your friend as well.

Danke.

“Because, while I do not know who the enemy is any longer, I do know who my friends are, and that I have not done as well by them as I should. I hope to change that. I hope to do better.”
– Londo, Babylon 5, »No Surrender, No Retreat«

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