Daily writing prompt

What quality do you value most in a friend?

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Friendship isn’t something I take lightly. Growing up I didn’t have more than two friends at a time. One friend proved false after knowing her from second grade to after high school. I spent the night at her home, did lots of things together, and thought she was the best friend I could have. I even went to her mother’s funeral. It wasn’t until after a high school reunion that I saw her for the shallow person she is.

So, what do I look for in a friendship?

1. Honesty. I really hate it when people lie to me and use me.
2. Honesty. I don’t like it when people talk about me behind my back and then tell me how much they like me to my face. That’s not honesty. That’s manipulation.
3. Honesty. I can’t stress honesty enough. It means everything to me. I want to know I can depend on people to do what they say they will and not leave me hanging.

The Bible says to treat others the same way you want to be treated. It’s where we get the Golden Rule from. I’ve always been honest with people. You could call me a people pleaser because I believe people when they ask me to do something for them and they will reciprocate. I learned early on what it means to be used by people and get laughed at for my gullible nature. Yeah, I’m not like that anymore. Gullible, that is. I don’t have that word plastered across my forehead anymore.

I have friends now, friends I can count on to do what they say they will and if they can’t, will let me know, like when my best friend called me on a Wednesday in February and told me she couldn’t pick me up for rock painting or on Saturday for the Winter Market because she was in the ICU with Sepsis. She almost died. I’m so glad she’s okay.

My friend, pictured above, lives in the same building with me. We met shortly after she moved in. She invited me to her church for Bible study. Little by little we got to know and trust each other. She knows me pretty well. I was with her when she put her dog down not to long ago. That’s what friends do for each other. She also helps me a lot with Firestorm. She has a lot more knowledge of the universe than I do. Research helps. My next door neighbor is the other good friend I have here. I help her a lot with what she needs to do. She’s worried about her brain because she’s forgetting a lot she needs to know. I worry about her. We spend a couple of hours a night watching television together. Not tonight. She just left to go to her sister’s. Her sister is 98. She usually goes every Friday night unless another family member is in town to visit. I’ll take care of Missy tonight and tomorrow morning. It’s what friends do for each other.

I do my best to be friendly to the people here. I call many people here friends, but only two are good friends. It takes time and effort to build a good friendship. For me it starts with Honesty.

What do you value most in a friend? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading. The image belongs to me.