Fr-amily

According to this month's issue of Cosmo, framily members are friends who are so close, they might as well be related - they spend holidays together and list each other as "In case of emergency" contacts. Here's what I think qualifies someone to be in the framily:

• First of all, they have to know your "real" family
• On top of that, they know just about every detail of your life - even the mundane things like who cuts your hair and where you shop for groceries
• When something funny, embarrassing, or horrible happens to them, you're one of the first people they call
• You have a million "inside" jokes
• Even if they're not hungry, they'll meet you at a restaurant - just to hang out while you eat
• You have keys to each others houses and your pets even know them well
• You don't keep tabs on anything, because you don't care if it all equals out eventually or not
• You never have to worry about what they're thinking about you - they'll tell you
• When you go to their house, you don't worry about knocking or asking for something to drink - you've already made yourself at home
• Most likely, they're part of the reason why you chose a certain cell phone carrier and why you have learned how to text while you're driving
• They make you want to be a better person, but at the same time, will skip church with you to go get donuts
• You look forward to hanging out with them, and afterwards feel really lucky to have such good friends

I know, my blogs are normally not very sappy or deep, but one of our favorite "framilies" is moving Saturday and I'm so bummed. Yes, they'll just be in the neighboring state of Indiana and I know we'll still see each other, but I also know that friendships inevitably suffer when long distances are involved.

My friends in Georgia & California, and Jerrod who leaves every summer, and even Josh who gets deployed for long periods of time, would all probably agree that I'm terrible at keeping in touch. So, I'm going to try my best to prevent Jenn & Mike from slowly becoming the "So, what's new with you? It's been FOREVER since we've talked!" kind of friends.

But, even if they do...that brings me to my personal favorite aspect of a full-fledged framily member - you can immediately pick right back up wherever you left off, no matter how much time has past. The memories, trust, and love are all still there.

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. -Edna Buchanan