I don’t have a lot of friends.

I’m the one who is often looking in from the outside, the friend who is sometimes invited, sometimes after the fact.

I’m not part of the neighborhood texts or the get-togethers to chat about life.

I’m a homebody, the one who people make small talk with, but isn’t invited out for a glass of wine.

But here is what I have learned as you get older — it’s not the number of friends you have, it’s those lasting relationships that mean the most.

Quality over quantity.

It’s the childhood friends who knew you decades ago, and who embrace who you are today. Those relationships that span 30, 40+ years, that you can pick up where you left off no matter how much time has passed.

It’s the college friends in the group text, who reminisce about the good old days. The same friends who will drop everything when one is in need of a shoulder to lean on.

It’s the friends you meet along the path of life, the ones who may be sprinkled across the country. They are the friends who make you smile with a simple text out of the blue, who you may not see often, but will always be just a phone call away.

If you’re reading this and nodding along, just know you’re not alone.

People come and go in your life, friendships blossom, and sometimes fizzle out.

And that’s OK.

Making new friends can be tough, especially as we get older.

So if you’re like me, with a small circle of friends, cheers to you.

Every single one of my friends has made a profound imprint on my life.

And that is what is most important.

-Signed the mom who is often found in sweats, lounging at home with her kids

A version of this was originally published on Facebook.

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