Telepathic Friendships

Every once in a while we find those incredible friends who seem to fit into our life like a Jenga wedge that just won't budge. We move locations, change mentalities, have other relationships, and somehow when all the other pegs quiver they're stuck right there in the very center.

There are many people in this world who are good at keeping up long-term, long-distance or long-winded friendships. I am not one of them. But in my life I've been lucky to meet those Jenga friends who are important enough for me to keep trying to change for. I hate talking on the phone; for them, I call. I hate not planning social functions; for them, I drop the ball. I hate talking about myself; to them I tell it all. The beautiful thing is that I receive the same treatment in return. One of my Jenga friends loathes to text message. She now has unlimited monthly texting, just to talk to yours truly (and some cute boys). I have another Jenga friend who lives far away and always calls me to chat. I usually sit there staring at the phone when she calls, afraid to pick up because how can I possibly begin to say everything that I want to? When I don't answer, she gives me about a week and then tries again. She knows I'm there and she wills me the courage to answer. When we talk, she expects nothing from me.

One of my favorite authors talks about "telepathic" friends who she defines as those people who you can talk on the phone with or telepathically and never make plans. These are the friends who just are, who you find yourself thinking about completely randomly and loving despite however many weeks without speaking.

The other day in treatment we were talking about friendship. One patient asked how you know when someone "really likes" you. I see it like this: When you have a friend who you really know you can tell someone else exactly why they like you with descriptive, colorful, and wise adjectives. You can say what they do, what they do to you, and what they do to the world. You can say exactly why they're special.

One of my greatest desires in life is to be truly known by my friends and to truly know them in return. To my Jenga friends I feel forever indebted. It just so happens that many of my Jenga friends are also telepathic friends, which means that I don't actively communicate with them as much as I'd like. I feel guilty for this and commit to working on it. Thankfully, they accept that I will never be good at talking on the phone.

I'd like to thank all of the following Jenga, telepathic, unique friends of mine:
Lauren
Sophie
Cooter
Shaun
E. Nort
Laarraa
Sarah
Adrienne
Tess
Alison and Andrea
Alison L.
Rog
Antoinette
Cole
Hudson

I'm thinking of you...