Friends

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person
who helped you stand up to the class bully.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who
saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.

7. In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who
went up to Nick 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.

8. 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.

9. In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person
who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball
cards so that your room would be a "high schooler's" room, but didn't
laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.

10. In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person
who went to that "cool" party thrown by a senior so you wouldn't
wind up being the only freshman there.

11. 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.

12. 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 Susan, and found you a date to the prom.

13. In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person
who helped you pick out a college, assured you that you would get
into that college, helped you deal with your parents who were
having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go...

14. 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.

15. 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 college 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 come
over and send you off with a hug, a lot of memories, 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.

16. 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!