Angelique and Jane From Down the Road

Do neighbours count as friends?

image from Canva

I struggle to maintain friendships.

I *think* I want friends, sometimes I really crave having a friend that I can tell everything to and hang out with, but I’m just not good at it.

It’s not a problem. I’m not bothered anymore.

I’m old enough and self-aware enough to know exactly where it all goes wrong. The bit that’s tricky these days is managing friendships to make them sustainable for me.

I can make friends easy enough.

I’m not particularly outgoing but I can hold a decent conversation and give off the fun, smily friendship vibes. The problem is that to be friends with me you need to be a laid back person, independent with your own life, and have no expectations of how you think I should behave, otherwise you will accuse me of letting you down.

I’m the kind of friend who is 100% reliable in a crisis, I’ll drop everything for you and be there, but I won’t remember your birthday. And if you invite me over next week, when I say, ‘maybe’, it means a flat no. So don’t get your hopes up. And I won’t call, and often won’t pick up if you call me.

I can’t be friends with people who are needy because it’s too much, it’s too exhausting. I’ve had some wonderful friends…