A good friend...

In Kindergarten your idea of a good friend, was the person who let you have the red pencil 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 his / her 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 good friend, was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.

In sixth grade your idea of a good friend, was the person who went up to ‘Nicky’ or ‘Susan’, your new crash, and asked him or her to dance with you, so that if he or she said no you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed.

In seventh 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 eighth grade your idea of a good friend, was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the day before that you had.

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 his / her schedule so you wouldn’t be alone at lunch.

In eleventh grade your idea of a good friend, was the person who gave you rides on his / her new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn’t be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with ‘Nick’ 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 he / she 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 his / her way to give you reassurance 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 two choices, who 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 his / her way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when he / she is sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly, LOVES YOU !