Friends?

There are so many different kinds of friends and friendships out there. To me there are 3 main categories.

Some fall into the "good friend" category. They are the ones I can count on, call in the middle of the night, share secrets with, wear my pj's around, invite over even when my house is a mess and complain to...about anything.

Then there are the "acquaintance friends". People you know and see regularly at the same activities with your kids. They are people you can chat with and maybe see outside out the group now and again but nothing too deep.

Then there are what I call the "fair weather friends". You know, the ones who want to only be there for the good stuff. As soon as something is wrong in your life they disappear. When things are good you are great friends, you hang out, share stories, chat on the phone, email, etc but you know that if you need them....they probably aren't going to be there.

Earlier this summer I met some people who I thought were going to be good friends. We all got along and laughed and laughed. We shared stories, secrets, and not everything was about sunshine and butterflies. Now, I put them in the good friend catalog b/c they listened intently about my problems, shared their own troubles and all was well. Suddenly these friends disappeared.

Today I asked another friend what happened and found out that these people I had put in the good friend category were really only fair weather friends. By my sharing what was going on in my life at the time, something very important and troubling to me, I lost these friends.

So I think I need a new category; selfish fair weather friends. These people only want to hear about your good days but want you to sit and listen to their bad day stories. Draining, unfulfilling relationships.

So, does it hurt? It hurts that it took over 2 months to find out what was going on. It hurts that people weren't honest. It hurts that these people portrayed themselves to be something they are not. What doesn't hurt is that I have lost their friendship b/c people like that I certainly don't need around.