The Way The Roses Smelled

A wise man once told me "life friends are the friends that stick with you through thick and thin. They're the ones you want with you when bad things happen, and you can always count on them, no matter what." That was my pastor, Pastor Bob Martz.

He's right you know, and I'm not just saying that because he's a godly teacher; I really agree with him. You all know I've had my fair share of hardcore life troubles, namely, the death of my best friend in '09. In that time, all the people who I had been pretty good friends with in choir became my really good friends. Some of them I considered like my family, and a few of them, I considered... priceless. Literally magnificent. The bond between us was tighter than anything you can imagine. It was amazing.

I'm not bragging about the great relationship I have with my friends, and I'm also not playing victim just cause my friend died a couple years ago. Bear with me, I do have an excellent point here.

Time has a habit of continuing, and in my story, that's no exception. As the sun kept rising and falling, our bond began to strain a little.
The first example of that I can think of is when I heard my mother and my best friends mom talk about how our get togethers could be called Hugfest 2009. I was beyond offended at the time, but now I see their point. We kind of got a little carried away with the hugs, but hey, it was a rough time.
As time continued, some of our parents began placing some limitations on our interaction, and thats where it hit the fan. The bond that me and my friends had made had been officially threatened and challenged by our parents, and we resisted. in vain. Again, I'm not being critical of my or my friends' parents. I'm just talking. I'll explain shortly. After we started seeing each other less frequently, and doing the whole Hugfest thing less frequently, we started to drift a lot. Our family bond returned to friendship and we resumed to take each other for granted. Of course, there's a lot of drama and emotional stuff that went into that, but long story short, nothing changed.
2.5 years later, what changed? Excellent question. I started asking myself that a little bit in the spring, and the question grew a lot. I began asking myself how I lost control over the relationships I had with a few certain people. I hopped on facebook and over the days and weeks, waited to see a particular two people on chat. Eventually did, and apologized to them, and asking how hard it would be to restore the relationship we had before. Both said we should give it a go. One meant it, one didn't. The one that did, we didnt get a long for very long. So now you ask yourself the same question, how did Cameron's friendships change at all over these last two years? Answer: sadly, they haven't much. Of all the close friends I had the summer of '09, there's one I'm completely comfortable talking with about anything. We don't talk much, but when we do, it's like we never skipped a beat. But for all the others, I still love them all to death. I'd still be willing to talk to them on the phone as they tell me their problems. I only wish that was still mutual. And here's the other thing, guys. Actions do truly speak louder that words. I can say all the right things here, but that doesn't mean anything. There's one close friend that I let down. It was awful, and I didn't really realize it til about 8 months later. I can say how much I care about that person, and I do, SO much, but that doesnt even start to repair the bridge of trust I burned.

Do you see where Im getting at? Life friends are the hardest to keep. They require a lot of time and attention, and it doesn't seem worth it, but trust me, when you're feeling lonely and there's no one to talk to about your life, those friends you blew off suddenly become reeeeeeaaaal important. Trust me.

I hope this post isn't making anyone sad. I just realize how depressing Im being, especially if you part of the whole Wyatt thing. That's not my goal at all, but this is a sobering topic. Here's my tip to you. If you have an important friend in your life, keep him/her there, even when you fight, which you will if you're close. Even when they're annoying. Always. Someday, you'll regret your decision to replace the position of "best friend" with someone who seemed more tolerable. You can't replace a faithful and loving friend. They're too precious to be traded out.

Last question: is Cameron friendless? Answer: nope. I have friends. Quite a few. Life friends? Eh, maybe 4 at the moment. Idk. I expect to gain and lose friends all throughout my life. As for just keeping in touch, that's what facebook is for. For keeping my life friends close, that's what the speed dial presets on my phone are for.

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17 KJV)