> ali"missing my friends"ssa

A little background.

I currently live with my brother and a friend of mine that I have known for almost fourteen years. My closest friend is a man I have known for about ten years, and I still occasionally get together with two other guys who were a year ahead of me in high school, but I have known for about ten years as well.

In my case, I didn't make any kind of conscious effort to stay close to any of these. For the most part, it has been a matter of convenience -- the need to have roommates, the fact that we all ended up in the same city. My closest friendship now has been maintained by the simple fact that we share the same faith, which has made us much closer.

Most of the friendships that have fallen by the wayside for me, though, have been because I have never been willing to put much effort into maintaining the friendships I have had. Of course, changing lifestyles and value systems have contributed to that. Moving to different cities was kind of a problem, too, especially since some friendships just can't be maintained by email alone. (Thank goodness for the ones that can!)

Anyway, I believe that if both parties are willing, strong friendships can be maintained for long periods of time. Having convenience on your side certainly helps, of course, but it isn't necessary.

And yes, without question, I would say that what effort I have put in has been worth it. Granted, that effort hasn't often been a lot, but I think that for some friendships, I would be willing to do a lot more.

Don Monkey