What Are the Different Types of Friends You Should Have?

The subject of friends is a broad one. There are many different types of friends. To a close, intimate friend you can say anything without feeling judged. You can tell your deepest secrets or desires. You can cry or laugh or get angry and you know it will not change how they feel about you.

Some of my greatest friends have been the four-legged furry ones. I have rescued over 30 dogs and have grieved deeply when they passed. They took with them many of the secrets I shared and the tears I cried - when only my dog would understand.







This is one friend I have not met but would like to know -- just by looking at his picture!

Many of us have on-line friends and although we will probably never meet them in person, we can maintain a relationship on a deep level -- sometimes deeper than those friends we see regularly.

I am related to most of my closest friends; my husband, my daughter, and my sister. I am blessed to have them in my life and can't imagine life without them. In an age when a lot of marriages don't work out, I am thrilled to have such a close relationship with my husband of 45 years. We never run out of things to talk about and enjoy spending most of our days together 24/7.

My sister has known me since I was born and still likes me - a lot. It is such a comfort to know that she will always be there no matter what I share with her.

I always wanted a daughter who I could call a friend. I never expected to have one who understood me better than I understand myself. One who I can have fun with or cry with. One who I can respect as a woman, not just because she is my daughter, but because she is wise, thoughtful, intelligent, and gracious in every respect.

There are many people we believe to be friends until something negative happens. It can be a disagreement or possibly something that was misunderstood. When we experience these scenarios, we have to realize they were never true friends. They were 'fair weather friends' and probably the worst kind -- they bring us the most pain because we cannot understand how their loyalty can be tossed away so easily.

This is something I have never understood. I have been battered often in my life and have always tried to maintain the relationship and work things out. I don't take friendship lightly and find it difficult when people do.

I believe each of us has friends on different levels. There are friends we may have a coffee with and share our day or our thoughts but we would never tell them what is really going on in our lives. It does not mean we do not trust them or like them -- it is merely a different type of friendship.

Then there is the friend who I can call at 2 A. M. and cry. Sometimes, I don't even have to say a word -- just cry and know the other person understands, without saying a word. Then there is a knock at my door and she has arrived to give me a hug and a prayer. No questions. No judgments. Just support.

I have an incredible number of friends - of every type and description and I respect them for who they are, no matter what they believe or what they do. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I do not throw people away. I keep them and when I get tossed aside, it grieves me deeply.

As far as what I admire most in my closest friends -- it is their ability to be non-judgmental, fun, honest, funny, loyal, empathetic, on-time, dependable and did I mention funny?

This post was a prompt from an on-line friend, who blogs at The Lieber Family Blog. Her question was: Do you have many friends or just a few? Why? What qualities do you most admire in your closest friends?

To see what other secret subjects my on-line friends wrote about, check them out here:

Baking in a Tornado
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
Spatulas on Parade
The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver
Confessions of a part-time working mom
Simply Shannon
The Bergham Chronicles
Climaxed
A Little Piece of Peace
Southern Belle Charm