The Importance of Frienship

People closest to me call me Monnie, the name my mother gave me so it means a great deal of affection to me. She was killed when I was 6 years old but is still alive and well in my heart...

Growing up with one parent was difficult at times but father managed the best he could. Fortunately we had tremendous help from my very large & loving family. However so, we still faced great challenges. One of the biggest for me was always having to move around. This made it difficult for me to develop long lasting & meaning relationships. I wound up going to 6 different elementary schools and never stayed for more than a year in the 3 high schools that I attended. Even with such doubtful odds, I did manage to make a few meaningful friendships that surpassed the boundaries of time & space. In my heart, for everyone that I can remember sharing a joyful & touching moment with me, I will always maintain a space for them. But, there are some who have proven to be much more special for me. Those are the ones that I can remember befriending & embracing me unconditionally, never judging and never refusing to forgive me for something I said or did while angey or drunk. Those are the ones I think of daily and pray for nightly. The greatest of them is Anisah. She has proven to be the least judgmental, most forgiving & most loving. My first born daughter truly is my best friend...

Friendship is one of the most important concepts for me. Within my dearest friendships, affection, honesty, humor & patience are qualities that are always present and abundant. Now I am 30 years old & after much analytical self reflection, I’ve discovered that I can count on one hand how many true friends I have. And as I continue to contemplate those relationships & consider how much older everyone is getting, the more I realize that the qualities that make my friendships strong and fulfilling are dissolving faster than I’d like. Perhaps with all of our own personal problems like our love life, kids, finances & maintaining psychological stability, we reprioritize our friendships as secondary or disposable relationships. When we do this, we all loose out. If we were to realize how very important strong and lasting relationships ware, we could begin to understand that having those friendships would help with dealing with the kids, finances & even our psychological stability. But alas, we continue to suffer from our own ignorance and apathy. I suffer. I persevere.