Friendship is highly overrated. What's it for, anyway? To pass the time? Everyone has their own expectations about friendship. These are mine:Level One friends, of which there are many, are great for playing bridge, going shopping, choosing curtains, eating in restaurants, seeing movies and concerts and gossiping about other friends, which may actually include you if you are not present at the time of the gossiping. They fake a laugh even when your jokes are not funny.
Level Two friends are great for picking you up at the airport, dropping you off at the train station, cooking you dinner and eating your cooking, and consoling you when your dog dies. They seem happy about your successes but may actually harbor feelings of jealousy. They force a smile or roll their eyes when your jokes fall flat.
Then there is Level Three. Level Three friends are rare indeed. They drive you to chemo treatments, keep your darkest secrets and support your fledgling business ventures. They lend you money without making you feel guilty for asking. They console you when a human being, like your spouse or your parents, is sick or dying. They willingly share details about their own lives. They tell you when you look stupid or need to lose weight. They only laugh at your jokes if they are funny, and when they are not funny they say, "I don't get it." They are happy for your successes. These people are often family members. One hopes a spouse is a Level Three friend, although in certain cases they are excused if you find them very attractive or they make a lot of money and thus enhance your life in those ways.
The bottom line: Be comfortable alone. Even Level Three friends die.
love this one! i'm grateful to have experience all these different friendships. sometimes its difficult to tell which people are what level...i think sometimes that leads to unnecessary disappointment. very wise! rs
ReplyDeletewhat level am I?
ReplyDeleteYou know, when I was writing this I heard you asking that very questions, and what I want to know is: How can you even ask????? (Actually, you are Level Four: Nothing you do can ever be wrong.)
DeleteYou don't have to see or speak often to be a level 3 or more, do you?
ReplyDeleteYou were a level 4 in February and that was with years between visits.
Has the snow gone away yet?
Not sure who wrote that, but I saw some people in Florida in February and two of them were definitely Level 3/4, despite no visits in years. Not important.
Delete