Sometimes, it takes a few bad friends to spot the good ones.  The bad friends aren’t always obviously bad, and maybe sometimes they don’t mean to be bad friends. They just aren’t…good friends.

Eloquent, eh?

Let’s step back for a minute. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and it’s something I’ve struggled to put into words. But here goes. The ‘bad friends’ I’m talking about aren’t the sort to intentionally hurt you. They tell you they’re your friend above all else. They value you, they support you in your successes…but when you need them? They’re just not quite there.  They’re the ones who would love to spend some time with you, they really would, but there’s just never the time, they’re just too busy. And occasionally, just occasionally, you wonder if they’re really and truly being honest with you.

The real diamonds are the ones who keep on pestering you to meet up with them, get on skype, catch up, even if you’re being useless at getting staying in touch. The ones who can communicate with you purely via emojis or facebook stickers. The ones who, with one look, can communicate exactly what they think. And if you need them? Well, they might not drop everything, but they’ll usually make sure they’ve at least got one hand free to grab hold of yours.

But above all, the best of friends are the ones who hear you complain time and time again about the people who never show up. They may be the same stories over and over, but they’ll always sit and listen, and wait patiently for everything to be ok again.

I like to see the best in people, and I can’t quite believe that the people who call themselves our friends realise they’re being quite so unreliable.  I’m sure I’ve been the ‘bad friend’ on more than one occasion, and so I’m taking a moment to check myself.

If only others would do the same.