A friend

A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else.

There comes a point

There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will.

Gifts for friends (for free)

True friends are not fussy or judgemental. They care not what you are worth or what you own. And they certainly understand the meaning of your friendship, and whatever you may give as a present comes from the heart. Here are some of the most heartfelt gifts you can offer good friends, without a bit of monetary investment.

1) THE GIFT OF LISTENING... 
But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2) THE GIFT OF AFFECTION... 
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3) THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER... 
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."

4) THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE... 
It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note could be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life (although it may cost a stamp if you mail it)

5) THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT... 
A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super job" or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

6) THE GIFT OF A FAVOR... 
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7) THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE... 
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8) THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION... 
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. Really, it's not that hard to say "Hello" or "Thank You." 

A sister

is a forever friend.

I would rather walk

with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.

Never explain

Your friends do not need it. Your enemies will never believe it.

I would rather

walk with a friend in the dark,than alone in the light.

Wear a smile and have friends

wear a scowl and have wrinkles

Wear a smile and have friends

wear a scowl and have wrinkles

Tea with friends

Tea with friends

If you want a stable friendship,

get a horse.

Good friends, good books,

and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

 Mark Twain

Flowers for you

my friend

Friendship

is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.

If I had a flower for every time..

I thought of you.... I could walk through my garden forever.

If I had a flower...

If I had a flower for every time I thought of you.... I could walk through my garden forever.

Good morning friends

Good morning friends

The two flower merchants

One day, two flower merchants set up shop next to one another. They opened for business on the same day, carried the same lovely selection of aromatic flowers, and maintained similar prices for their marvelous plants. Both merchants took great care with raising their plants and both were kind and courteous to their customers. In fact, their stores appeared to be equal in every way. At first, the merchants even received equal traffic through their shops, but -- as time went on -- the first merchant's shop became more popular among the people. The second merchant noticed this and became concerned. One particularly slow day, he decided to look into the matter. As he stepped out his door to visit his neighbor, he passed one of his regular customers leaving the first merchant's shop carrying their weekly purchase of flowers. In disbelief, the second merchant hurried into the next store. Indeed, the store was teeming with customers. The second merchant noticed his competitor wasn't taking the money himself, as he always did. The first merchant was out among the aisles, talking with his customers. To his amazement, the second merchant watched as the first would chat at great length with the customers and even would occasionally talk to the flowers themselves! The second merchant prided himself on being a serious store owner and could not understand this leisurely approach to running a shop. Yet this behavior seemed to be working for the first merchant, as his thriving store would attest. When the second merchant could stand it no longer, he approached the first and politely asked to interrupt the conversation. The first merchant smiled, handed his customers to one of his clerks, and turned his attention to his exasperated neighbor. The second merchant asked, "Brother, I am your humble student. Our stores are nearly the same in all ways, yet your results are doubling while mine are halving. I do not understand." "Brother," the first merchant said, "We are the same in most ways, this is true. The difference lies in what we see with our hearts. You see your store as a store, your plants as plants, and your customers as customers. I see my store as a beloved home and my cherished friends are my customers, clerks and plants, all present to be adored. In that way, we are very, very different." 

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom. There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened.  It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful... But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. 'You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

Friendship is mutual curiosity.

"Friendship is mutual curiosity." -- Holbrook Jackson (1874-1978)