Friends are Important

I've been thinking lately about how important friends are. I will be the first one to say that Alan is my best friend. He has been for years and years. I guess that I'm talking about friends other than a spouse/boyfriend/etc. Girlfriends, college friends, old friends. These people are SO important in my life. I think that in the beginning of a relationship, two people get so wrapped up in each other that they sometimes forget the other people in their lives. That's natural. But I can also remember reminding myself in Alan's and my early years that I needed to keep my friends close. There are things that husbands just can't understand. Alan is empathetic and thoughtful and an amazing listener, but he doesn't spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week caring for children the way that some of my friends do. He doesn't know what it's like to wait at home every night, knowing that he's going to be late again, the way that my friend, Rachel, who's husband is also a Resident, does. I can remember somebody telling me when Alan and I got married, "Don't ditch your friends. A guy should never come between girlfriends." I might have been slightly offended at the time, but I value that advice now. I need my friends in my life. I need them every single day. Just yesterday I spent hours with a good friend, talking about something in a way that Alan and I just couldn't have done. It's not a problem with our relationship; there are just some things that are better discussed with other friends. Alan was at work yesterday. He couldn't call me back because he was in rounds. I needed a friend and he just physically could not be here. Thank goodness I had somebody else to go to. It's plain and simple. There are times in our lives when our spouses cannot be around. They have to work, they are busy with a calling, etc, etc. There are times in our lives when we WILL NEED our friends. I want to do everything that I can to make sure that I have my friends around when I need them, and everything I can to make sure that I am around when my friends need me. It goes both ways. I encourage you to do the same.