From about grade eight onwards, I had a best best friend, Jennifer. In grade eight our class was split into two, due to the size I guess and Jennifer and I ended up in the same class.

We’d gone to school together since grade one and were friendly but I wouldn’t say close. In grade eight something just clicked with us and we became inseparable. We laughed at all the same things and it wasn’t just a giggle here and there, when we laughed about something (or usually someone) it was an all out laughing heart attack.

We were pretty equal when it came to smarts in school. Our dads were both farmers, our moms both nurses. I had two sisters, she was envious of that and she had one brother, I was envious of that.

We stayed BFF’s right until we graduated from high school and after that slowly lost touch. She was living in Alberta for a few years and then moved to Idaho. I stayed in Manitoba.

I’ve since had friendships with other people, adult type of friendships, but I find they are really quite different. Currently I have a few girlfriends who I love and I am grateful for their friendship but it’s not the same kind of friendship as when you are young.

Jennifer and I knew pretty much every little detail about each other and our families. And our extended families. If either one of us talked about Aunty or Uncle so and so, we knew and could picture that person and what their personalities or faults or strengths were.

We knew each other’s parents well and what their reactions to different situations might be. She knew my sisters well too. I never really got to know her brother much as he was a few years older and already gone off to University when she and I became close.

But we knew all of each other’s family secrets.

When you become friends with people later in life, even in your late twenties or thirties, it’s different. You don’t get to know all the aunts and uncles and all of their secrets. You might hear about them but you’ve probably not met them or even seen pictures of them.

Adult friendships don’t allow for the time you would need to really get to know someone inside and out. You’ve each got kids, possibly spouse, jobs, hobbies, etc and there’s only so much time leftover for a coffee or a chat.

One of my best friends today is someone I met through work. We chat via text on most days and sometimes all day depending on what’s going on in her current relationship. But we rarely see each other face to face. Sometimes we go for lunch but if not then it’s pretty much just texting.

You know the meme about how some friendships are just sending memes back and forth all day? That’s us. She sends the funniest jokes though. And we do know a lot about each other, but only the current version of ourselves. If I talk about my extended family, she doesn’t know who anyone is and I have to give their backstory.

It’s odd.

Yet it is a friendship, just not the same. And maybe that’s all a part of growing up. I mean, I’m forty-eight, I’m more than just grown up but…this prompt got me thinking about how different my childhood friendships were as compared to my adult friendships.

I’m unsure if my adult friendships are just as valid, or maybe are they more valid?

Also, what day is it today? It’s a Monday that feels like a Friday and Friday felt like a Monday.