Random Thought

One of my friends turned 40 this past week. One of my other friends is turning 30 this next week. Another one of my good friends is about 45. And another still, is 24. Is it funny that my friends range in age by 20 years? Does age, when it comes to friendship really matter? And if it does matter, at what point does it no longer matter?

Example 1:
My son is almost 10. Do I want him hanging out with 15 year old boys? No freakin' way! (5 year difference)
Example 2:
When my girls are 18 do I want them dating and hanging with 28 year old girls or guys? No. No. and No. (10 year difference)

But am I a hypocrite for this? Maybe.

I have the same age kids as my 45, 30, and 40 year old friends. Maybe I started early. Maybe they started late. But at what point did age cease to matter? Was it when we got married? Was it when we got pregnant and had a babies? Was it when we started our first full time job? Who knows really.

It changed for me when I was 18 and started college. I had already been working full time for a year and was pretty much grown up doing my own thing. Working, going to school, and coming and going as I pleased. One of my closest friends was a 35 year old woman in our ward at church. Her husband had an important job. She was raising 4 kids. I was a kid in collage with a job at the bakery. We were opposites in every possible way. I loved hanging out with her. We would go tanning, the gym, shopping, and out to eat together. She treated me like an equal even though we were far apart in age. We would talk about everything. Her kids, her husband, my job, my boyfriend(s), school, everything. When I was getting married she went dress shopping with me. She altered my dress for me too (considering I was pregnant, it needed a little altering). She was accepting of me no matter what. When I told her I was pregnant and getting married she accepted it because it was what I wanted and it was what made me happy. (After I was married I went on double dates with her and her husband.) It was interesting to have a relationship with a "grown up" on a grown up level. When I think back now, I think she was a huge part of making me who I am today. Age, occupation, income, and status do not make a friend. Friends are people who you like to hang out with to spite all of those things.

Whether you:

*are 40 and look 30
*are beautiful
*are 24 and act 35
*are the best mom ever
*are the most patient person
*are a stay at home mom
*are a full-time employee
*are on food stamps
*are richer then Midas
*are proper
*swear like a sailor

Friends love you for who you are. Not for who you were or who you can be.