One of my best friends Cordell called me today to tell me that he had to put his dog of 15 years, Moose the dachshund, down. It meant a lot to me that he called to tell me this. It made me feel like a very useful friend. We had a wonderful, thought-provoking, introspective conversation like all our conversations are, as seldom as they are. Our friendship is so rewarding because we both feel privileged to know the other. Through each other, we learn about ourselves and we grow. We find each other intellectually stimulating and have so much respect for one another. We are best friends.

I only have a handful of close friends and thus I consider them all my best friends. And none of them overlap, that is, none of them are friends with each other. I wonder if my subconscious did that on purpose.

Not only do they not overlap, my friendship with each of them is very specific, like my friendship with Cordell.

I have a best friend who is my oldest friend. I've known her since third grade and I love her very much. Our friendship is based on nostalgia. We've lasted this long, we're going to last our whole lives.

I have a best friend who I have a lot of fun with and care about deeply. We might not have the deepest conversations, and we might not know how the other is truly feeling...but we care about each other and our friendship so much that we don't need to. It sounds a little superficial, and it is. It's actually one of my friendships that is hardest to maintain.

I have a best friend who just shows me so much love. He shares with me very personal, intimate information no problem. He even shares these things in front of David and I love that my friends see him as a friend.

I have a best friend who is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. We don't have a lot in common except our overall niceness (which she has more of than me). But she's a truly good person and I love having her in my life.

I have a best friend who I click well with in so many ways. We connect as married women of color in medical school. We keep it real.

I have a best friend who is very interested in international current events and we also connect on a personal level. We are both very thoughtful in our conversations. We're both educated but in different fields and it allows for great perspective. We both have troubled fathers and it's a very special commonality we have.

I have a best friend who is happy for my happiness. But she has a history of getting in these funks where she makes those around her walk on egg shells. I've considered cutting her out of my life after she severely offended David. I never really knew this side of her until after college. We became friends in high school, but grew up separately in undergrad. I didn't know until later that she gets these mood swings. I decided against cutting her out of my life after I realized that even though she has issues, she really is a good friend. Why cut someone out of your life that cares about you?

I don't see any of my friends regularly. Sadly for some of them, I don't even contact them regularly. I wonder if that implies something. Can you call someone best friend if you know very little about their lives? Am I over-thinking it and we are both just busy? I don't see a problem in holding onto a friendship for the sake of holding on to the friendship. I obviously can live without these people considering my communication with them is so seldom and they aren't part of my day-to-day life. But who would I be without them? I'd be a married woman with no friends. No, thank you.