It will vary for each of us and at each point in our lifetime.
When we were in elementary grades we just wanted someone to play with.
By Junior High, it was good gossip fun; high school brought similar interests and how to have a good time.
In college we found like minded souls and started sharing confidences.
In adulthood, depending on where we lived it was harder to develop deep bonds. Sometimes our friends were our neighbors, our colleagues, our kids' parents and they seemed to float in and out of our lives so much more frequently.
Now as I enter this 60+ passage friendship takes on an even different role. I have people I call friends, but they really are probably more acquaintances. We go to lunch or an activity or communicate via email and we may share insights in our lives, but it doesn't have that "best friend" status.
And then I have the people I call friends and for that they are. I share confidences with these people and they pitch in when they see I need help; whether I ask or not. It is with these people I have a real relationship. I know about them, they know about me. It's never one sided. Because one sided relationships are acquaintances.
This poster describes who we should probably be surrounding ourselves with at every stage of our friendships. For isn't that what we all need, positive, supportive people? Who needs the Debbie Downers? For they are always sucking our energy and asking for more.
At 60 I need all the positive supporters I can get. From this vantage point, life is short!
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