| Friendship is a wonderful asset. Friends are the | | | | indifference over years of neglect. |
| confidantes of all the times of our lives; the | | | | As we reach the final year of the first decade of |
| people we shared our lollipops with as children; the | | | | the twenty first century, the true value of |
| girls we giggled with on 'sleep overs'; the | | | | friendship has become under rated. We send our |
| companions of girlish experiments with fashion and | | | | emails and put notices on social networking sites |
| makeup; the boys we cycled miles with and the | | | | and congratulate ourselves that we have done |
| buddies of a dozen guilty adventures such as | | | | enough to keep our friends 'topped up' with a 'Hi |
| orchard raiding and skinny dipping. | | | | guys, hope you are all okay', when in fact so |
| Those childhood friends should be forever but | | | | many of our friends are suffering financial |
| often they slip away, fading into memory when | | | | hardship or family problems, struggling, unknown |
| they move away in search of new jobs and | | | | to us, to stay cheerful without a friendly shoulder |
| following family commitments somewhere out of | | | | to cry on. |
| sight and out of mind. How sad it is that they | | | | You cannot broadcast your most personal |
| become shadowy memories; no longer part of | | | | problems on a public network; you cannot type |
| our lives except at Christmas or on birthdays | | | | 'remember when we did this...' and wait for three |
| when we might send a card, prompted by some | | | | days to receive a reply and feel you have had |
| entry in a date calendar we consult throughout | | | | some meaningful connection with a friend! |
| the year to remind us of our obligations. | | | | Friendship just does not work that way. Friends |
| It need not be quite so cold and unemotional. | | | | are there; friends are real and touchable, even if |
| Friendship is one of the greatest gifts we have | | | | they are far away, not just through phone calls |
| and it should be celebrated not just at Christmas | | | | and letters but also through the gifts we |
| and birthdays but all the year through. Like love, | | | | exchange and the thought we have put into how |
| friendship should not be taken for granted; | | | | we choose our friendship gifts. |
| beautiful yet fragile enough to be broken by | | | | |