Definition: Friendship

I recently ran into a friend of mine and we got to catching up as we stood in the middle of an aisle at the store. I don't see her often but when I do we always catch each other up on the highlights of our lives. I actually hesitate calling this person my "friend" since we see each other so rarely, but I don't have any other word to describe it. When we catch up, the anecdotes are too personal to be acquaintances. But we do not see each other often enough to be considered bosom buddies.

As we talked, another mutual "friend" came up and we both lamented about how we didn't stay in touch with her when she moved and how a simple text message once in a while would suffice. I couldn't help but wonder if she realized that we were both describing, not only our lost friendships with this other girl, but also our friendship with each other.

A while back I did a Facebook "cleanse" and deleted anyone who I didn't talk to on a regular basis, online or otherwise. When I later texted someone who had been a victim of the cleanse, he had the audacity to ask "Oh, are we still friends?" I proceeded to explain that he had my number and Facebook didn't determine our relationship with one another. Needless to say, that was the last time we spoke.

I guess everyone has their own definition of friendship. For some, it's being privy to the goings-on of other people's lives on the web. For others, it's seeing them on a regular basis. And others, it's a text message checking in.

For me? I guess it's a combination, depending on the person. I know who is there for me all the time, who I can rely on always. But a friend is also the person who you bump into at the store and simply asks, "How's it going?"