The analogy of a flower works perfectly for me when it comes to friendship. If you want your friendship to grow and thrive you need to give it the things that it requires. A flower needs to be watered and given sunlight and friendship needs time and energy. Both require a commitment. If you neglect either for too long, it will fade or die. Of course friendship means something different to each individual and they may place importance on different aspects of friendship. Friendship for me is someone who I can trust and rely on. They may not be someone I see or talk to often, but are always there for me in time of need and vice versa. Now having children of my own and knowing what an important role friendship has played in my life, I try to encourage them to develop their own friendships. When they were younger, I played a large role in helping them find and nurture friendship but as they have gotten older I find that I can now take a step back and watch them establish their own friendships. My daughter is very outgoing and tends to make friends easily, while my son is friendly to everyone but only calls to a select few of friends. As they continue to get older, they will decide and evaluate what friendship means to them and whom they value as friends. I truly hope that they have the fortune of finding and maintaining friendships like I have in my life.
Christine Brown
Christine Brown