I was thinking tonight about friends. As I watched my son on his field trip, I said to myself, he is not playing with anyone, does he have any friends. Most of us go thru life counting associates as friends, but as I reflected on the relationships I have with people I really realized why none of my kids don't fit into the standards "society" raise.

I am really and truly a loner.

I have a very small number of people not related to me that I consider friends and/or family and I am not ashamed to list them. Because these people don't ask anything of me. Don't expect me to come around, and a couple of them, when I tried dumping them, never stopped seeing about me.

Tonight I feel the need to mention them, one by one and why I consider them a friend.

Amilee...I don't talk to her often, have only spoken to her a couple of times this year, but when we talk it is like we never missed a beat. She has a life, young, white, dating a black guy, but she listens to me. She values my opinion and has been there for me in some tough times. She has tried to make me more sociable although I am not. But she cares.

Stephanie...also young, but I don't care what the situation, she has been a friend. Listening, or letting me listen, she has remained the same thru thick and thin. She cares about my family and is part of my family as far as I am concerned.

Qiana....wild but there. I have helped her learn about relationships and she has introduced me to my hubby. She and I talk a lot and have so much in common. She understands, now, where I come from when I say certain things. And I know if pinned against a wall she will be there. With punching gloves on.

Sean...thru his friendship I learned how to be me. Opinionated at times, he never backed down to give it to me as it was or is. And although situations hinder our conversation, I know he has always had my best interest at heart. His friendship is one I would not pay to change.

Then there is Michael David...my first boyfriend, saw me thru my first pregnancy nad even tho the relationship end never panned out, throughout the years nothing has changed. We are older and wiser and when he needs a friend to talk to, I am there, and when I need a listening ear, he is there.

My list of friends may not be long and include some people most would overlook because of their lifestyle and how they live, but they are my only true friends and until someone proves otherwise they will always be on that list. Recently I had to explain my relationship with a couple to my hubby and although he is not particular about a couple of them, he understands that I would not be the woman I am today without them.

How is this managable, it is! Because friendship, true friendship goes beyond what you read in fairy tale stories and drama stories. Love conquors all. And I appreciate all of these people and what they have contributed to my life. So if you have a friend like this, thank them for their friendship and let them know now how and why they are so important to you.

A couple of thank you's may mean the difference between a world of no appreciation....LOVE CONQUORS ALL!