- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preteenagers today articles
- preteenagers today q&a
- teenagers today articles
- teenagers today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
The Value of Friendship
By Tara Swords
As we grew, we stayed close and served as role models for each other. Both of us always got high grades, and probably motivated each other to excel in school as a result. While today I delight in some of the harmless mischief we instigated, we were good kids that listened to our parents on the big issues, and never did anything that could get us into real trouble. In a way, we were our own support system for doing the right thing when parents weren't physically there to guide us.
And now, my memories of her are too many to count – a kind of animated collage: The day her house caught on fire, she grabbed her cat and ran to the safety of my bedroom; She taught me to shave my legs; I was the one driving her mother's car with Joelle sitting beside me when we crashed into a truck that had run a stop sign; We cried together as we rode in the ambulance to the hospital, and I was glad that I hadn't gotten blood on the shirt that she had let me borrow that day; We double-dated to prom, just as we'd always planned.
Now, college degrees later and miles away, we are still close. We live in different cities and work different jobs. And while I realize that my parents had the most important role in molding the person I was to eventually become, my childhood friend was a close second. It makes me wonder about the future, about my "someday" children and the people who will have an unforgettable impact on their lives, regardless of me. I will help nurture those friendships, knowing that their quality of life will be so enriched. The effects of a good, true friendship never fade: As children, Joelle and I explored and exploited the freedoms of being young and carefree; and as adults, the mere remembrance of that fact is enough to make me cherish the good in my life.
