IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A FRIEND, BE A GOOD FRIEND

Being a real friend is a tremendous responsibility. You have to be
loyal, honest (but not too honest), sincere, reliable, dependable,
friendly (stands to reason really), pleasant, open, sociable (not much
point having friends if you're not going to be sociable is there?),
responsive, welcoming and gracious. You also have to be forgiving at
times, be prepared to offer help, support and sympathy. At the same
time you don't want to be taken advantage of nor have the wool pulled
over your eyes. And you may have to be brutally candid at times and be
prepared to risk the friendship by being so. Yet equally there are
times you need to hold your tongue and keep your opinion to yourself.
They are you friends, not clones of you - they do things differently.
You have to be counsellor, confessor, priest, helper, companion,
friend, confidant(e) and comrade. You have to offer the friendship
enthusiasm, dedication, determination, creativity, interest, passion
and drive. And this all what you have to do. What do they have to do?
Well, in an ideal world the same. If they fail to do any of this, you
will still carry on being their friend, being forgiving, being
supportive and being there. The most important bit is being there. You
are there when they are going through it and not just being there for
the good times. You will be there when they need you in the early
hours, the dark days, the times of trouble and stress. You will be
there to hold their hand, let them cry on your shoulder, lend them a
hanky, pat them on the back and make them endless cups of tea. And you
will tell them to cheer up, not to worry, stop being such a fool,
whatever it takes to get them up and at it again. You will be there to
give them good advice. You will be there just to listen at times. You
will be there when you don't want to be. You will be there when all
their friends have fallen by the wayside. You will be there no matter
what. Someone once said that a real friend is someone you can be
having a conversation with as they get on a plane, you don't see them
for ten years and when they arrive back they carry on the conversation
as they get off the plane like a moment hadn't passed. That's exactly
how it is between good friends.