You gotta have friends

Late last week a friend of mine dropped by my house. As she and I were talking I was lamenting the fact that I was a bad pal for forgetting to call my friend, Andi, on her birthday. I had no good excuse. And, we have been friends since I was five so it's not like her birthday is a recent thing I have celebrated. I just forgot to call. Anyway, this really isn't the point of all this. The point is my friend who stopped by mentioned, pointedly, that perhaps I have too many friends. I balked at this assertion but I am still thinking about this conversation days later. Is it possible to have too many friends?

I will be the first to admit that many people I count as friends, including many of you fair readers, are not people I converse with daily, weekly, or monthly. At least not in the conventional way of calling or visiting. But does that mean we aren't friends?

I guess this all comes down to I don't believe you can have too many friends. I feel like I have a lot of disparate friends. Friends from different times in my life but with whom I am still able to connect. Friends whose time in my life overlap but they don't know each other or at least aren't friends themselves. I tried to hash this conversation out with my pal who dropped by and her conclusion was that I drop a few pals so that she could keep my friends straight in her head. As though that is a good reason to get rid of a friend. I informed my pal that she may not like the list I construct if I have to start losing friends. Hee.

In all seriousness, I honestly cannot imagine getting rid of one of the people who I consider to be a friend. Friends shape us and help us and yell at us and laugh with us. Even people who I would never choose to be friends with again have taught me valuable lessons about trust and about who I am and who I want to be.

I hope, if you consider me a friend, I have done the same for you. So, in my mind, the more friends, the better.