Day 206: When A Friend Needs You

I cherish my friendships. Always have. And I take them seriously. I also give a hell of a lot to my relationships. I mean I really give. Of my time, energy, love and compassion. That's why if I feel you don't show me the respect and mutual love that I believe a friendship requires to be successful, then I move on. I have way too many people in my life and not enough time to waste it being in the company of those who I believe have either "dissed" me, not treated me right or basically don't give a damn about me. I give too much to be in this type of relationship.

Another quality I have is loyalty. I have written about my loyalty to people, vendors, friends, and family before on my Blog ... I stay forever... if you are a soul sister or brother, you'll have my heart forever, but not if you treat me wrong. As I approach 50 I have evaluated a lot of relationships ... those that don't offer me anything, have been dropped. I feel like it's an honor to have me in your life. And for my true, dear friends they are cherished and honored in my life.

I received a call today from a friend I met more than 30 years ago when we both were enrolled in an internship program in Washington, D.C. during our junior year of college. She was from New York, me from Los Angeles. She was an Italian Catholic, me an LA Jew. We bonded then and it's lasted all these years. We had our first child the same year. Her son is now a sophomore at University of California, Santa Cruz, mine at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. We both went on to have two more kids... I flew to Berkeley to attend her baby shower and she returned the love to me by flying to Los Angeles during my campaign.

She left a voicemail message today for me. After listening to it I had a pinge in my stomach. Something wasn't right. Her voice didn't sound like the soulful, joyful voice it had always been. This friend was so committed to our friendship that during my campaign for City Council in 2009 she flew to Los Angeles with her teenage daughter during the GOTV (Get Out The Vote) part of my campaign to walk precincts and cheer me on. She wanted to show her daughter a real woman's champion.... I couldn't have been more touched. I had friends here in LA that didn't show up for anything, yet here was a person who flew into town to be with me during one of the most significant times of my life. That says a lot about the character of a person and about our connection.

So today when I heard her voice I knew something was up. When I called her back I reached her voicemail ... I left a message saying I was worried... she sent me back an email saying that she was en route to pick her son up from school, but indeed she was in a funk, and asked how the hell did I know? I knew because that's what friends do. They know when a friend is hurting.

When was the last time you checked on those you cherish? If it's been awhile you better get a move on!