Pondering what I'm pondering?

So, I've been thinking about friendship. It changes as we grow up, doesn't it? I remember vaguely when I was in kindergarten, I considered this one girl my friend, but I didn't know her name. I referred to her as "brown jacket" because of what she wore. In grade school, you can gain friendships for fruit rollups, and lose them over a capri sun. By high school, friendships have become the backbone of who you are. Your entire person practically is defined by how many and who your friends are. Due, in part, I believe to the intensity of high school friendships, you assume that they'll last forever. Maybe a couple will, but most get scattered like dead leaves on a windy day. Adult friendships, by and large, seem shallow. After all, by adulthood, we've got busy lives. You need the kind of friendship that is kindled over coffee, but doesn't require any real maintenance. One by one, your friends have kids, and you become involved in their lives at the expense of your own. The cycle starts over again.

Instead of going off on a very long tangent, I'll just say that at this time in my life, I happen to be extremely fortunate to be making friends rather than losing them...and I have to say, that I really really love my friends. They're each so awesome and unique and very good friends - I really can't imagine a better group of people than the friends I have now. I've also found that the more people I meet, the more people I get to know, the more I inch myself out of my shell ... the more I find myself genuinely liking people, finding them fascinating, and having more room in my heart for more people. Yeah ... *cough* sorry ... I'm sappy.