Easy to Catch, Hard to Hold

I've been thinking about the way I make and keep friendships.

I'm actually quite easy to befriend. I can talk to people, laugh with them, share stories, and connect without needing years of preparation. But most of my newer friendships tend to be short-term. People come into my life, we share a season, and sometimes we simply drift apart.

Yet, strangely enough, I do have friendships that have lasted for years. I have a close friend from elementary school, another from high school, and another from college. So perhaps I'm not really someone who can't maintain friendships. Maybe I'm simply selective about what kind of friendship becomes permanent.

I've realized that my longest friendships tend to work because neither of us takes distance personally. I can disappear for a while, live my own life, and eventually reconnect without having to explain every silence. The friendship doesn't collapse just because communication isn't constant.

I'm also careful with trust. I may be distant, blunt, stubborn, or independent, but I don't usually do things that deliberately damage the foundation of a friendship. If I borrow money, I pay it back. If my friend can't afford something, I can treat her. There's no need to keep score because the relationship is built on trust and reciprocity.

For example, I can borrow money from my elementary-school friend, pay her back, and later take her on a trip when she doesn't have the budget. There's no complicated accounting of who owes whom. We're friends first.

I think that's my friendship style:

Low maintenance, high loyalty, low drama.

I don't necessarily maintain friendships through constant communication. Sometimes I maintain them simply by not betraying the trust that holds them together.

Maybe that's why the phrase "easy to catch, hard to hold" feels strangely accurate.

I'm easy to reach.
Easy to talk to.
Easy to befriend.

But I'm not someone who needs to be constantly held onto.

And perhaps the people who understand that are the ones who end up staying.

Distance isn't necessarily disloyalty.
Silence isn't necessarily abandonment.
And friendship isn't measured by how often we talk.

Sometimes, real friendship is simply knowing:

"Go live your life. I'll live mine. We'll find our way back to each other."

--
Photo's me and mine.
Cartoonized and edited aesthetically by chatGPT.☺️

_{Posted via HiveSuite}