You've got a friend in me,

You've got a friend in me.

When the road looks rough ahead

And you're miles away from your nice warm bed

You just remember what your old pal said,

You've got a friend in me; yeah, you've got a friend in me.

You've got a friend in me,

You've got a friend in me.

You've got some troubles,

I got 'em too;

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you

We'll stick together and see it through

Cause you've got a friend in me,

You've got a friend in me.

Some folks might be a little bit smarter than I am

Bigger and stronger too (maybe)

But none of them will ever love you the way I do

It's me and you, boy.

And as the years go by

Our friendship will never die

You're going to see it's our destiny

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

Yeah, you've got a friend in me.

There are many good songs to have come out of the Walt Disney films, but this is one of the best for me.

This morning a very good friend knocked on my door and said, "I'm going for a walk: would you like to come too?"

Of course, she didn't mean walk; she meant a walk and an opportunity to talk.

She's been through troubles, I've been there too. She's been through tough times with her daughters, just as mine too are going through their troubled teenage years.

We cannot escape troubles in this life. What we can do, however, is pour out those troubles to a sympathetic ear. My friend certainly received a deluge this morning.

They say you make friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for life. I hope that each one of us has a least a couple of good friends for life; friends with whom we can share the deepest troubles of our souls.

And the joys too – because life can be sweet.

I think the trick of making real friendships which last for life is trust and vulnerability. You can never hope to make a real connection, one which lasts, if you do not trust that person with your vulnerability. I'm not talking about spilling your deepest secrets on a first meeting, but establishing, bit by bit, a deeper relationship than mere "friendliness". This also means you cannot hope to have many of these friends. This really is an area where quality outweighs quantity.

And, yes, sometimes giving that trust and being vulnerable means coping with hurt and loss if the person you trust doesn't return that friendship on the same level.

But the value of the real friendships that survive is worth the grief and pain of the ones which don't. I wouldn't be without my friends; each of them is treasured and valued in their own unique way. And I know they value me in return.

Mary

A Moodscope member.