What friends do you have?

This was sent to me by one of my friends over email today.

You might be best friends one year,
pretty good friends the next year,
don't talk that often the next year,
and don't want to talk at all the year after that.
So, I just wanted to say,
even if I never talk to you again in my life,
you are special to me and you have made a difference in my life,
I look up to you, respect you, and truly cherish you.

It has made me think how blessed I am, and have been, in my life with friends. Not just any kind of friend (you know those fair weather people who abandon you when things go bad) but those true and beautiful people who are honestly friends, come what may. People have commented in my life about my ability to make friends, and I must admit that I have led a gifted life when it comes to people who love me. During the course of my life, most of my friends have moved on to different parts of the country, or even the world, and yet when we do talk, no matter what the length of time has elapsed since we last conversed, it is like we were never apart. Friends like that know you, the real you, and still love you. My life is blessed.

I wish there was someway I could actually adequatley thank all of my friends, show them what a gift they have been to me... but I am not sure that there are any other ways beyond being a good friend in return. So, for all you friends out there reading this, Thank you. Know you are loved, and in some cases, missed.