Ask Amy: True friends are worth freezing for
Dear Friend: As I write this, I just came inside from picking some daffodils during a late-season snow storm.
It occurs to me that there are some things – and some people – worth freezing for. And friendships have their reasons and their seasons.
Childhood friends fade from view. College besties scatter. Professional buddies vow to stay in touch after a job change, but don’t.
Friendships formed between parents when their kids are young are especially intense, but vulnerable, because these relationships are forged during the crazy days of playdates and sleepovers and emergency babysitting needs.
But after the kids grow up and out, you recognize that your parenting brought you together, but your kids were the glue.
You feel animosity toward “Allie” because in retrospect you realize that she has not been a good friend to you.
You fulfilled some of her social and physical needs; she occasionally reciprocated. That’s what friends do, but that’s not what friends are.
True friends are daffodils in the snow, and they are well worth freezing for.
Now that the season for this friendship has passed, you should move on.
Dear Amy: I have a good relationship with extended family and don’t want to jeopardize it. "Brian" is 15 years old. He is smart, good-looking, and very athletic.
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