What level are you?

So, I have been thinking about the order of relationships. I have realized that there are several different “levels” if you will.

Street People – these are the people you pass on the street. The ones you smile at or say “hello” to. You don’t know them, and don’t necessarily care to, but you are polite. Major has now learned how to wave and say “Bye”, and the other day he said bye to everyone who was walking in and out of a store we were in. So polite!

The Acquaintance – these are the people that you see often, perhaps neighbors or other parents at your kids school. You may not know their names, but you recognize their faces. You always smile and wave at them, and they at you.

Friendly Friends – these are the people you see more often, but you couldn’t call late night in an emergency. You would invite them to special occasion such as a 50th birthday, or an anniversary party.

Good Friends - these you may see a lot or never, but you know they have your back. You can call them every two months or every two years (or 20 years) and catch up like it was last week that you saw them.

Everyday Friends – I don’t have many of these. These are the people I talk to everyday. The people who "get me." The friends that I can share TMI with. The friends that I have cried with, and laughed till I wet my pants with. The friends that have seen me at my very best and at my very worst.

I’m sure that you may find that you have a few more levels, or possibly a few less. But no matter, it is really difficult when you have to demote people to another level. I bring this up because I have an everyday friend who has recently had to move an everyday friend to an acquaintance. I had to do this several years ago, so it has been a topic that I could share some insight on and assure her that sometimes things like this happen.

I can now refer to the end of this relationship as “the break up. ” and it really was. I had invested a lot of time and a lot of myself with this friendship. But in the end, I realized that could never be the kind of friend that she needed. And she could never be the kind of friend to me that I needed. One time, Mark said to me that if we didn’t live on the same block that we would have never have been friends. And it was true. Looking back, we had nothing in common.

After a lot of hurt and several years of time, I can now look back and appreciate that time. I grew, all be it in a direction that I am not proud of. But being able to realize that, I can still consider myself fortunate.

Hang in there girl!