Low Maintenance Friends

      I have a good friend named Ann. Ann is the type of lady that is easy to have in your life. She is always there for me, good times and bad. She never judges me, she will take my secrets to the grave and every time I am with her I feel a little better about myself and my situation (whatever that might be at the time).

      Ann is what I like to call a low maintenance friend. Her friendship does not require much time or effort. When we do spend time together we just pick up right where we left off without skipping a beat. It is nice to have people like that in your life but sometimes, I am ashamed to say, I take them for granted. I tend to put a great many things ahead of my friendships and as I get older, I am living to regret that choice. There are times in life when you just need someone to listen. In my world, I can either pay for a therapist or talk to Ann. Ann is much cheaper and way more entertaining than a therapist. She does not try to fix me. She listens and she empathizes and most important of all, she tells me that it will be all right. I think that she sincerely believes it too. Many times I remain unconvinced, but I still leave her feeling more hopeful, nonetheless.

      Ann just became a grandmother. She was overjoyed and showed me pictures of a beautiful baby girl. As I went out to pick up a gift for the baby, I thought about doing the usual, picking out an adorable tiny dress or two, putting it in a cute little gift bag and tossing in a pink signed card shaped like a baby animal. Then I remembered the pay it forward thing. Paying it forward is about taking it a step further. It is about doing something nice for someone beyond the store bought gift. It is about taking the time to tell the people that are important to me just how special they are, right now. So I got out a pretty blank card and I told Ann just how lucky that baby girl is to have her as a grandmother and how fortunate I am to have her as a friend. I hope she realizes how much good she does in the world just by being her. I am so very thankful for my friend and this year, as part of my pay it forward project, I pledge to be a better one in return. Thanks Ann for giving me such a fine example of how it is done!

Laurie