More sunshine

I got to catch up with a close friend yesterday, a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Her family was going through some pretty crazy times, but it was still a great reunion. We chatted about different things, remembered our crazy fun FLSR lives together, and she said among other things she knew we would always be friends. And of course we will! You know how I know that? We hadn't really seen each other in months, but it was like we had never been apart. We just picked back up right where we had started.
That's the way I remember friendship being as a kid. You both knew that it was pretty much outside of your control how often you saw each other anyway--after all, your parents controlled your sole method of transportation--so when you met again, there was never a sense of guilt for not having met up earlier, no reproaches for not writing or calling up. (Kids don't really talk on the phone, unless you were my little sister who strapped the phone to her head with a headband so she could talk and walk for hours).
When you grow up though (since I'm an expert on being grown up), it's your fault when you don't see people as much as you like, even if you are terribly busy. You can only blame yourself for not calling, or writing, or texting.... and so you feel like you have no real excuse even if life is insane.
But a real friend doesn't bother to make you feel bad about it. A real friend doesn't guilt trip you or try to put any sort of blame on you: they just know, you know? And boy, is it good to have a friend that isn't judging you, 'cause let me tell you we all spend enough time judging ourselves already.