or at least real friends are.
I’m talking about the ones who take you at face value and don’t hold your weirdness, insane moments or idiosyncrasies against you.
They ignore you when you begin talking to yourself but poke you and raise an eyebrow if you keep doing it.
They are the ones who see your random, rambling text messages or hear the off the wall, beyond the grid, call the men in white coat voice-mails and don’t freak out, run for cover or actually call the men in white coats.
They have your back.
They are the ones you can depend on in the darkest days or the most joyful moments and know they will embrace them with you either in tears or laughter.
These are the people that you can call on when you are hurting and know they will console you, pray for you, or hold your hair back while you puke.
They take the good, the bad, the ugly, the grumpiness, the tears, the yelling, the bitching, the nastiness and the smiles with a grain of salt, a kind word or a get a grip speech.
They will tell you when you are being a jerk and hold you accountable when it is important.
They will hope your dreams come true and ground you when you get above your raising.
They won’t tell you are brilliant if you aren’t and will, if your butt looks big in that dress, be the first one to say so.
These are the people that will pick you up at two am when you run out gas in the middle of nowhere, tell you when you are being an idiot and encourage you when you think the world is coming to an end.
They will be few, but they will be there when you need them.
Everyone you meet may like you, but only a handful will be in your corner when you paint yourself into one.
Remember to thank them for liking you even when you are unlikable.
They are, after all, the flowers in your springtime and, without a doubt, the joy and encouragement on the road less traveled.
Do not take them for granted … they don’t have to like you, they choose to.
There is a difference.
You’ve got a friend in me … 
Just call out my name … 
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
A Photographer's Heart 