your friend
Gang,
I don’t usually send something like this on, but I thought it was worth it.
It has nothing to do with diabetes, but with friends which I feel all of
you are to me.
gd
Friendship
In kindergarten, your idea of a good friend
was the person who let you have the red
crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.
In first grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the
bathroom with you and held your hand as you
walked through the scary halls.
In second grade, your idea of a good friend
was the person who helped you stand up
to the class bully.
In third grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who shared
their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.
In fourth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who was
willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you
wouldn’t have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nicky or Smelly Susan.
In fifth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on
the back of the bus for you.
In sixth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nicky
or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance
with you, so that if they said no you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed.
In seventh grade, your idea of a friend was
the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night
before that you had.
In eighth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you
pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball
but didn’t laugh at you
when you finished and broke out into tears.
In ninth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a
party thrown by a senior so you wouldn’t wind up being the only freshman
there.
In tenth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who changed
their
schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.
In eleventh grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you
rides in their new car, convinced your parents
that you shouldn’t be grounded, consoled
you when you broke up with Nick [or Glenn] or
Susan, and found you a date to the prom.
In twelfth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped
you pick out a college/university, assured you that you would get into that
college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a
hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go…
At graduation your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on
the inside but managed the biggest smile one
could give as they congratulated you.
The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who
helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of
the house when you just couldn’t deal with your
parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back
together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for
university
and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18
years of memories you were leaving behind, and
finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you
assurance that you would make it in
college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent
you off to college knowing you were loved.
Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the
better of the two choices, holds your hand when you’re
scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks
of you at times when you are not there, reminds you
of what you have forgotten, helps you put
the past behind you but understands when
you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have
confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up
your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you
when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly
loves you