Low Maintenance Friends

I am lazy. I don't mind working hard in my company. But after work is done, I like life to be easy and carefree. My relationship with my wife can best be described as "easy". We don't just love each other. We like each other. We enjoy being together. We rarely fight. I still get excited when she comes home. I think it is that way for her. In our twenty years together, we have had rough spots. We even went to counseling. But we worked out the problems and living together returned to being easy. I would not want to be in a marriage that required constant work. Life is too short.

I feel the same way about friendships. Deb and I have been blessed with some awesome friends. We have friends that would do anything for us. And we would do anything for them. But the best part of the friendship is that we rarely have to do anything for each other. We are low-maintenance friends. Our friends understand boundaries. They never get offended. They love us just the way we are. It is easy hanging out with them. We never feel a need to try to get them to like us. They like us and we like them. It's easy.

We frequently go on vacation with a couple of our low-maintenance friends. Some of our best times have been spent with them. We have a deep, loving bond with them. I cannot think of a scenario where we will not be friends until we die.

Lately, I have been especially thankful for my friends. Many people go through life never having relationships as rich as those I enjoy. As we get older, our friendships begin to provide support and security that we once felt from our parents. One of the reasons my life is so good is because of my awesome friends. They make me laugh. They give good advice. They share some of my best memories.

I have been blessed with two low-maintenance kids and a low-maintenance dog. But today, I am very happy to have some low-maintenance friends. I hope they feel the same way.

(Tom and Renee, two of our best friends, are pictured above with Sarah at her graduation.)